I'M    BIG    KNOUUH   TO    PROTKCT    MY    MOTHER,  AND   I'LL  DO  IT." 

p.  42. 


o  mg 
CHAELES    HENEY   POPE 

THIS   BOOK 
IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 


AS 


PREFACE 

THE  story  contained  in  this  volume  is  a  record 
of  youthful  struggles,  not  only  in  the  world 
without,  but  in  the  world  within  ;  and  the  suc 
cess  of  the  little  hero  is  not  merely  a- gathering 
up  of  wealth  and  honors,  but  a  triumph  over 
the  temptations  that  beset  the  pilgrim  on  the 
plain  of  life.  The  attainment  of  worldly  pros 
perity  is  not  the  truest  victory;  and  the  author 
has  endeavored  to  make  the  interest  of  his  story 
depend  more  on  the  hero's  devotion  to  principles 
than  on  his  success  in  business. 

Bobby  Bright  is  a  smart  boy;  perhaps  the 
reader  will  think  he  is  altogether  too  smart  for 
one  of  his  years.  This  is  a  progressive  age,  and 
anything  which  young  America  may  do  need 
not  surprise  any  person.  That  little  gentleman 
is  older  than  his  father,  knows  more  than  his 
mother,  can  talk  politics,  smoke  cigars,  and 
drive  a  2:40  horse.  He  orders  "one  stew"  with 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

as  much  ease  as  a  man  of  forty,  and  can  even 
pronounce  correctly  the  villanous  names  of  sun 
dry  French  and  German  wines  and  liqueurs. 
One  would  suppose,  to  hear  him  talk,  that  he 
had  been  intimate  with  Socrates  and  Solon, 
with  Napoleon  and  Noah  Webster;  in  short, 
that  whatever  he  did  not  know  was  not  worth 
knowing. 

In  the  face  of  these  manifestations  of  exuberant 
genius,  it  would  be  absurd  to  accuse  the  author 
of  making  his  hero  do  too  much.  All  he  has 
done  is  to  give  this  genius  a  right  direction ;  and 
for  politics,  cigars,  2:40  horses,  and  "one  stew," 
he  has  substituted  the  duties  of  a  rational  and 
accountable  being,  regarding  them  as  better  fitted 
to  develop  the  young  gentleman's  mind,  heart, 
and  soul. 

Bobby  Bright  is  something  more  than  a  smart 
boy.  He  is  a  good  boy,  and  makes  a  true  man. 
His  daily  life  is  the  moral  of  the  story,  and  the 
author  hopes  that  his  devotion  to  principle  will 
make  a  stronger  impression  upon  the  mind  of 
the  young  reader,  than  even  the  most  exciting 
incidents  of  his  eventful  career. 

WILLIAM  T.  ADAMS. 


CONTENTS 


OHAPTXB  PAGE 

I.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  GOES  A  FISHING,  AND  CATCHES 

A  HORSE   ...        l        ....        1 

II.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  BLUSHES  SEVERAL  TIMES,  AND 

DOES  A  SUM  IN  ARITHMETIC     ....       13 

III.  IN  WHICH  THE  LITTLE  BLACK  HOUSE  is  BOUGHT, 

BUT    NOT    PAID    FOR     ...  ...          26 

IV.  IN  WHICH  BOBBY  GETS  OUT  OF  ONE  SCRAPE,  AND 

INTO   ANOTHER 38 

V.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY   GIVES    HIS   NOTE    FOR   SIXTY 

DOLLARS 52 

VI.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  SETS  OUT  ON  HIS  TRAVELS        .      66 

VII.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  STANDS  UP  FOR  CERTAIN   "  IN 
ALIENABLE  EIGHTS  " 78 

VIII.     IN    WHICH    MR.    TIMMINS    is    ASTONISHED,    AND 

BOBBY  DINES  IN  CHESTNUT  STREET          .        .      91 

IX.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  OPEN'S  VARIOUS  ACCOUNTS,  AND 

WINS    HIS    FIRST   VICTORY  .....       104 

X.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  is  A  LITTLE  TOO  SMART    .         .     117 

XL     IN   WHICH  BOBBY  STRIKES  A  BALANCE,  AND  RE 
TURNS   TO   RlVERDALE 131 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAG* 

XII.     Ix  WHICH  BOBBY  ASTONISHES  SUNDRY  PERSONS, 

AND  PAYS  PABT  OF  HIS  NOTB         .        .        .     144 

XIII.  IN  WHICH  BOBBY  DECLINES  A  COPARTNERSHIP, 

AND   VISITS    B AGAIN  ....       160 

XIV.  IN  WHICH  BOBBY'S  AIR  CASTLE  is  UPSET,  AND 

TOM  SPICER  TAKES  TO  THE  WOODS        .         .     177 

XV.     IN   WHICH   BOBBY   GETS    INTO   A   SCRAPE,    AND 

TOM  SPICER  TURNS  UP  AGAIN          .         .         .     191 

XVI.     IN  WHICH   BOBBY   FINDS   "  IT  is  AN  ILL  WIND 

THAT  BLOWS  NO  ONE  ANY  GOOD  "  .     .     .   205 

XVII.     IN  WHICH  TOM  HAS  A  GOOD  TIME,  AND  BOBBY 

MEETS    WITH    A    TERRIBLE    MISFORTUNE     .  .       219 

XVIII.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  TAKES  FRENCH  LEAVE,  AND 

CAMPS    IN   THE    WOODS 235 

XIX.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY  HAS  A  NARROW  ESCAPE,  AND 

GOES  TO  SEA  WITH  SAM  RAY         .        .        .     248 

XX.     IN  WHICH  THE  CLOUDS  BLOW  OVER,  AND  BOBBY 

IS   HIMSELF    AGAIN 264 

XXI.     IN  WHICH  BOBBY   STEPS   OFF   THE   STAGE,   AND 

THE  AUTHOR  MUST  FINISH  " Now  OR  NEVER"     280 


NOW   OE  NEVER 

OK 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT 


CHAPTER  I 

IN  WHICH   BOBBY  GOES  A  FISHING,  AND  CATCHES 
A   HOKSE 

"  BY  jolly !  I've  got  a  bite ! "  exclaimed  Tom 
Spicer,  a  rough,  hard-looking  boy,  who  sat  on  a 
rock  by  the  river's  side,  anxiously  watching  the 
cork  float  on  his  line. 

"  Catch  him,  then,"  quietly  responded  Bobby 
Bright,  who  occupied  another  rock  near  the 
first  speaker,  as  he  pulled  up  a  large  pout,  and, 
without  any  appearance  of  exultation,  proceeded 
to  unhook  and  place  him  in  his  basket. 

"You  are  a  lucky  dog,  Bob,"  added  Tom,  as 
l 


NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

he  glanced  into  the  basket  of  his  companion, 
which  now  contained  six  good-sized  fishes.  "I 
haven't  caught  one  yet." 

"You  don't  fish  deep  enough." 

"I  fish  on  the  bottom." 

"That  is  too  deep." 

"It  don't  make  any  difference  how  I  fish;  it 
is  all  luck." 

"Not  all  luck,  Tom;  there  is  something  in 
doing  it  right." 

"I  shall  not  catch  a  fish,"  continued  Tom,  in 
despair. 

"You'll  catch  something  else,  though,  when 
you  go  home." 

"Will  I?" 

"I'm  afraid  you  will." 

"Who  says  I  will?" 

"Didn't  you  tell  me  you  were  'hooking 
jack'?" 

"Who  is  going  to  know  anything  about 
it?" 

"  The  master  will  know  you  are  absent." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT        3 

"I  shall  tell  him  my  mother  sent  me  over  to 
the  village  on  an  errand." 

"I  never  knew  a  fellow  to  4hook  jack,'  yet, 
without  getting  found  out." 

"I  shall  not  get  found  out  unless  you  blow 
on  me;  and  you  wouldn't  be  mean  enough  to 
do  that;"  and  Tom  glanced  uneasily  at  his 
companion. 

"Suppose  your  mother  should  ask  me  if  I 
had  seen  you." 

"You  would  tell  her  you  have  not,  of 
course." 

"Of  course?" 

"  Why,  wouldn't  you  ?  Wouldn't  you  do  as 
much  as  that  for  a  fellow?" 

"It  would  be  a  lie." 

"A  lie!     Humph!" 

"  I  wouldn't  lie  for  any  fellow,"  replied  Bobby, 
stoutly,  as  he  pulled  in  his  seventh  fish,  and 
placed  him  in  the  basket. 

"Wouldn't  you?" 

"No,  I  wouldn't." 


4  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"Then  let  me  tell  you  this;  if  you  peach  on 
me,  I'll  smash  your  head." 

Tom  Spicer  removed  one  hand  from  the  fish 
pole  and,  doubling  his  fist,  shook  it  with  energy 
at  his  companion. 

"Smash  away,"  replied  Bobby,  coolly.  "I 
shall  not  go  out  of  my  way  to  tell  tales ;  but  if 
your  mother  or  the  master  asks  me  the  ques 
tion,  I  shall  not  lie." 

"Won't  you?" 

"No,  I  won't." 

"  I'll  bet  you  will ; "  and  Tom  dropped  his 
fish  pole,  and  was  on  the  point  of  jumping  over 
to  the  rock  occupied  by  Bobby,  when  the  float 
of  the  former  disappeared  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  water. 

"You've  got  a  bite,"  coolly  interposed  Bobby, 
pointing  to  the  line. 

Tom  snatched  the  pole,  and  with  a  violent 
twitch,  pulled  up  a  big  pout ;  but  his  violence 
jerked  the  hook  out  of  the  fish's  mouth,  and  he 
disappeared  beneath  the  surface  of  the  river. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  HOBBY  BEIGHT        5 

"  Just  my  luck  !  "  mattered  Tom. 

"Keep  cool,  then." 

"  I  will  fix  you  yet." 

"  All  right ;  but  you  had  better  not  let  go 
your  pole  again,  or  you  will  lose  another  fish." 

"I'm  bound  to  smash  your  head,  though." 

"No,  you  won't." 

"Won't  I?" 

"Two  can  play  at  that  game." 

"Do  you  stump  me?" 

"No;  I  don't  want  to  fight;  I  won't  fight  if 
I  can  help  it." 

"  I'll  bet  you  won't !  "  sneered  Tom. 

"But  I  will  defend  myself." 

"  Humph ! " 

"I  am  not  a  liar,  and  the  fear  of  a  flogging 
shall  not  make  me  tell  a  lie." 

"Go  to  Sunday  school  —  don't  you?" 

"I  do ;  and  besides  that,  my  mother  always 
taught  me  never  to  tell  a  lie." 

"  Come  !  you  needn't  preach  to  me.  By  and 
by,  you  will  call  me  a  liar." 


6  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"  No,  I  won't ;  but  just  now  you  told  me  you 
meant  to  lie  to  your  mother,  and  to  the  master." 

"  What  if  I  did  ?    That  is  none  of  your  business." 

"  It  is  my  business  when  you  want  me  to  lie 
for  you,  though;  and  I  shall  not  do  it." 

"Blow  on  me,  and  see  what  you  will  get." 

"I  don't  mean  to  blow  on  you." 

"Yes,  you  do." 

"I  will  not  lie  about  it;   that's  all." 

"  By  jolly  I  see  that  horse  ! "  exclaimed  Tom, 
suddenly,  as  he  pointed  to  the  road  leading  to 
Riverdale  Centre. 

"  By  gracious ! "  added  Bobby,  dropping  his 
fish  pole,  as  he  saw  the  horse  running  at  a  furi 
ous  rate  up  the  road  from  the  village. 

The  mad  animal  was  attached  to  a  chaise,  in 
which  was  seated  a  lady,  whose  frantic  shrieks 
pierced  the  soul  of  our  youthful  hero. 

The  course  of  the  road  was  by  the  river's  side 
for  nearly  half  a  mile,  and  crossed  the  stream  at 
a  wooden  bridge  but  a  few  rods  from  the  place 
where  the  boys  were  fishing. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT        7 

Bobby  Bright's  impulses  were  noble  and  gen 
erous;  and  without  stopping  to  consider  the 
peril  to  which  the  attempt  would  expose  him, 
he  boldly  resolved  to  stop  that  horse,  or  let  the 
animal  dash  him  to  pieces  on  the  bridge. 

"Now  or  never!"  shouted  he,  as  he  leaped 
from  the  rock,  and  ran  with  all  his  might  to 
the  bridge. 

The  shrieks  of  the  lady  rang  in  his  ears,  and 
seemed  to  command  him,  with  an  authority 
which  he  could  not  resist,  to  stop  the  horse. 
There  was  no  time  for  deliberation ;  and,  indeed, 
Bobby  did  not  want  any  deliberation.  The  lady 
was  in  danger;  if  the  horse's  flight  was  not 
checked,  she  would  be  dashed  in  pieces;  and 
what  then  could  excuse  him  for  neglecting  his 
duty  ?  Not  the  fear  of  broken  limbs,  of  mangled 
flesh,  or  even  of  a  sudden  and  violent  death. 

It  is  true  Bobby  did  not  think  of  any  of  these 
things;  though,  if  he  had,  it  would  have  made 
no  difference  with  him.  He  was  a  boy  who 
would  not  fight  except  in  self-defence,  but  he 


8  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OJR, 

had  the  courage  to  do  a  deed  which  might  have 
made  the  stoutest  heart  tremble  with  terror. 

Grasping  a  broken  rail  as  he  leaped  over  the 
fence,  he  planted  himself  in  the  middle  of  the 
bridge,  which  was  not  more  than  half  as  wide 
as  the  road  at  each  end  of  it,  to  await  the 
coming  of  the  furious  animal.  On  he  came, 
and  the  piercing  shrieks  of  the  affrighted  lady 
nerved  him  to  the  performance  of  his  perilous 
duty. 

The  horse  approached  him  at  a  mad  run,  and 
his  feet  struck  the  loose  planks  of  the  bridge". 
The  brave  boy  then  raised  his  big  club,  and 
brandished  it  with  all  his  might  in  the  air.  Prob 
ably  the  horse  did  not  mean  anything  very  bad ; 
was  only  frightened,  and  had  no  wicked  inten 
tions  towards  the  lady;  so  that  when  a  new 
danger  menaced  him  in  front,  he  stopped  sud 
denly,  and  with  so  much  violence  as  to  throw 
the  lady  forward  from  her  seat  upon  the  dasher 
of  the  chaise.  He  gave  a  long  snort,  which 
was  his  way  of  expressing  his  fear.  He  was  evi- 


9 

dently  astonished  at  the  sudden  barrier  to  his 
further  progress,  and  commenced  running  back. 

"  Save  me  ! "  screamed  the  lady. 

"I  will,  ma'am;  don't  be  scared!"  replied 
Bobby,  confidently,  as  he  dropped  his  club,  and 
grasped  the  bridle  of  the  horse,  just  as  he  was 
on  the  point  of  whirling  round  to  escape  by  the 
way  he  had  come. 

"  Stop  him !     Do  stop  him  !  "  cried  the  lady. 

"  Whoa ! "  said  Bobby,  in  gentle  tones,  as  he 
patted  the  trembling  horse  on  his  neck.  "  Whoa, 
good  horse!  Be  quiet!  Whoa!" 

The  animal,  in  his  terror,  kept  running  back 
ward  and  forward;  but  Bobby  persevered  in  his 
gentle  treatment,  and  finally  soothed  him,  so 
that  he  stood  quiet  enough  for  the  lady  to  get 
out  of  the  chaise. 

"  What  a  miracle  that  I  am  alive ! "  ex 
claimed  she,  when  she  realized  that  she  stood 
once  more  upon  the  firm  earth. 

"Yes,  ma'am,  it  is  lucky  he  didn't  break  the 
chaise.  Whoa !  Good  horse  !  Stand  quiet !  " 


10  JVOTF  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"What  a  brave  little  fellow  you  are!"  said 
the  lady,  as  soon  as  she  could  recover  her  breath 
so  as  to  express  her  admiration  of  Bobby's  bold 
act. 

"O,  I  don't  mind  it,"  replied  he,  blushing 
like  a  rose  in  June.  "Did  he  run  away  with 

you?" 

"No;  my  father  left  me  in  the  chaise  for  a 
moment  while  he  went  into  a  store  in  the 
village,  and  a  teamster  who  was  passing  by 
snapped  his  whip,  which  frightened  Kate  so 
that  she  started  off  at  the  top  of  her  speed.  I 
was  so  terrified,  that  I  screamed  with  all  my 
might,  which  frightened  her  the  more.  The 
more  I  screamed,  the  faster  she  ran." 

"I  dare  say.    Good  horse!    Whoa,  Kate!" 

"She  is  a  splendid  creature;  she  never  did 
such  a  thing  before.  My  father  will  think  I 
am  killed." 

By  this  time,  Kate  had  become  quite  reason 
able,  and  seemed  very  much  obliged  to  Bobby 
for  preventing  her  from  doing  mischief  to  her 


THE  ADVENTUBES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      11 

mistress ;  for  she  looked  at  the  lady  with  a 
glance  of  satisfaction,  which  her  deliverer  inter 
preted  as  a  promise  to  behave  better  in  future. 
He  relaxed  his  grasp  upon  the  bridle,  patted 
her  upon  the  neck,  and  said  sundry  pleasant 
things  to  encourage  her  in  her  assumed  purpose 
of  doing  better.  Kate  appeared  to  understand 
Bobby's  kind  words,  and  declared  as  plainly  as 
a  horse  could  declare  that  she  would  be  sober 
and  tractable. 

"Now,  ma'am,  if  you  will  get  into  the  chaise 
again,  I  think  Kate  will  let  me  drive  her  down 
to  the  village." 

"O,  dear!     I  should  not  dare  to  do  so." 

"Then,  if  you  please,  I  will  drive  down 
alone,  so  as  to  let  your  father  know  that  you 
are  safe." 

"Do." 

"I  am  sure  he  must  feel  very  bad,  and  I  may 
save  him  a  great  deal  of  pain,  for  a  man  can 
suffer  a  great  deal  in  a  very  short  time." 

"  You   are   a  little   philosopher,  as  well  as   a 


12  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

hero,  and  if  you  are  not  afraid  of  Kate,  you 
may  do  as  you  wish." 

"  She  seems  very  gentle  now ; "  and  Bobby 
turned  her  round,  and  got  into  the  chaise. 

"Be  very  careful,"  said  the  lady. 

« I  will." 

Bobby  took  the  reins,  and  Kate,  true  to  the 
promise  she  had  virtually  made,  started  off  at  a 
round  pace  towards  the  village. 

He  had  not  gone  "more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  of  the  distance  when  he  met  a  wagon  con 
taining  three  men,  one  of  whom  was  the  lady's 
father.  The  gestures  which  he  made  assured 
Bobby  he  had  found  the  person  whom  he  sought, 
and  he  stopped. 

"My  daughter!  Where  is  she?"  gasped  the 
gentleman,  as  he  leaped  from  the  wagon. 

"She  is  safe,  sir,"  replied  Bobby,  with  all  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  warm  nature. 

"  Thank  God ! "  added  the  gentleman,  devoutly, 
as  he  placed  himself  in  the  chaise  by  the  side 
of  Bobby. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      13 


MR.  BAYARD,  the  owner  of  the  horse,  and  the 
father  of  the  lady  whom  Bobby  had  saved  from 
impending  death,  was  too  much  agitated  to  say 
much,  even  to  the  bold  youth  who  had  rendered 
him  such  a  signal  service.  He  could  scarcely 
believe  the  intelligence  which  the  boy  brought 
him ;  it  seemed  too  good  to  be  true.  He  had 
assured  himself  that  Ellen  —  for  that  was  the 
young  lady's  name  —  was  killed  or  dreadfully 
injured. 

Kate  was  driven  at  the  top  of  her  speed,  and 
in  a  few  moments  reached  the  bridge,  where 
Ellen  was  awaiting  his  arrival. 

"  Here  I  am,  father,  alive  and  unhurt ! "  cried 
Ellen,  as  Mr.  Bayard  stopped  the  horse. 

"Thank  Heaven,  my  child!"  replied  the  glad 


14  NOW  OR  NEVE  Li;   OR, 

father,  embracing  his  daughter.  "I  was  sure 
you  were  killed." 

"No,  father;  thanks  to  this  bold  youth,  I  am 
uninjured." 

"I  am  under  very  great  obligations  to  you, 
young  man,"  continued  Mr.  Bayard,  grasping 
Bobby's  hand. 

"O,  never  mind,  sir;"  and  Bobby  blushed 
just  as  he  had  blushed  when  the  young  lady 
spoke  to  him. 

"We  shall  never  forget  you  —  shall  we, 
father?"  added  Ellen. 

"  No,  my  child ;  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  repay, 
to  some  slight  extent,  our  indebtedness  to  him. 
But  you  have  not  yet  told  me  how  you  were 
saved." 

"O,  I  merely  stopped  the  horse;  that's  all," 
answered  Bobby,  modestly. 

"Yes,  father,  but  he  placed  himself  right 
before  Kate  when  she  was  almost  flying 
over  the  ground.  When  I  saw  him,  I  was 
certain  that  he  would  lose  his  life,  or  be 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      15 

horribly  mangled  for  his  boldness,"  interposed 
Ellen. 

"It  was  a  daring  deed,  young  man,  to  place 
yourself  before  an  affrighted  horse  in  that  man 
ner,"  said  Mr.  Bayard. 

"I  didn't  mind  it,  sir." 

"And  then  he  flourished  a  big  club,  almost 
as  big  as  he  is  himself,  in  the  air,  which 
made  Kate  pause  in  her  mad  career,  when  my 
deliverer  here  grasped  her  by  the  bit  and  held 
her." 

"It  was  well  and  bravely  done." 

"That  it  was,  father;  not  many  men  would 
have  been  bold  enough  to  do  what  he  did," 
added  Ellen,  with  enthusiasm. 

"Very  true;  and  I  feel  that  I  am  indebted 
to  him  for  your  safety.  What  is  your  name, 
young  man?" 

"Robert  Bright,  sir." 

Mr.  Bayard  took  from  his  pocket  several 
pieces  of  gold,  which  he  offered  to  Bobby. 

"  No,  I  thank  you,  sir,"  replied  Bobby,  blushing. 


16  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"What!   as  proud  as  you  are  bold?" 

"I  don't  like  to  be  paid  for   doing   my  duty." 

"  Bravo !  You  are  a  noble  little  fellow  !  But 
you  must  take  this  money,  not  as  a  reward  for 
what  you  have  done,  but  as  a  testimonial  of  my 
gratitude." 

"I  would  rather  not,  sir." 

"Do  take  it,  Robert,"  added  Ellen. 

"I  don't  like  to  take  it.  It  looks  mean  to 
take  money  for  doing  one's  duty." 

"  Take  it,  Robert,  to  please  me ; "  and  the 
young  lady  smiled  so  sweetly  that  Bobby's  reso 
lution  began  to  give  way.  "  Only  to  please  me, 
Robert." 

"I  will,  to  please  you;  but  I  don't  feel  right 
about  it." 

"You  must  not  be  too  proud,  Robert,"  said 
Mr.  Bayard,  as  he  put  the  gold  pieces  into  his 
hand. 

"  I  am  not  proud,  sir ;  only  I  don't  like  to  be 
paid  for  doing  my  duty." 

"  Not  paid,  my  young  friend.     Consider  that 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      17 

you  have  placed  me  under  an  obligation  to  you 
for  life.  This  money  is  only  an  expression  of 
my  own  and  my  daughter's  feelings.  It  is  but 
a  small  sum,  but  I  hope  you  will  permit  me  to 
do  something  more  for  you,  when  you  need  it. 
You  will  regard  me  as  your  friend  as  long  as 
you  live." 

"Thank  you,  sir." 

"When  you  want  any  assistance  of  any  kind, 
come  to  me.  I  live  in  Boston;  here  is  my  busi 
ness  card." 

Mr.  Bayard  handed  him  a  card,  on  which  Bobby 
read,  "F.  Bayard  &  Co.,  Booksellers  and  Pub 
lishers,  No.  — ,  Washington  Street,  Boston." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  sir." 

"I  want  you  should  come  to  Boston  and  see 
us,  too,"  interposed  Ellen.  "I  should  be  de 
lighted  to  show  you  the  city,  to  take  you  to 
the  Athenaeum  and  the  Museum." 

"Thank  you." 

Mr.  Bayard  inquired  of  Bobby  about  his  par 
ents,  where  he  lived,  and  about  the  circumstances 


18  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

of  his  family.  He  then  took  out  his  memoran 
dum  book,  in  which  he  wrote  the  boy's  nam6 
and  residence. 

"I  am  sorry  to  leave  you  now,  Robert,  but 
I  have  over  twenty  miles  to  ride  to-day.  I 
should  be  glad  to  visit  your  mother,  and  next 
time  I  come  to  Riverdale,  I  shall  certainly 
do  so." 

"Thank  you,  sir;  my  mother  is  a  very  poor 
woman,  but  she  will  be  glad  to  see  you." 

"Now,  good  by,  Robert." 

"Good  by,"  repeated  Ellen. 

"Good  by." 

Mr.  Bayard  drove  off,  leaving  Bobby  standing 
on  the  bridge  with  the  gold  pieces  in  his  hand. 

"  Here's  luck ! "  said  Bobby,  shaking  the  coin. 
"Won't  mother's  eyes  stick  out  when  she  sees 
these  shiners?  There  are  no  such  shiners  in 
the  river  as  these." 

Bobby  was  astonished,  and  the  more  he  gazed 
at  the  gold  pieces,  the  more  bewildered  he 
became.  He  had  never  held  so  much  money 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      19 

in  his  hand  before.  There  were  three  large 
coins  and  one  smaller  one.  He  turned  them 
over  and  over,  and  finally  ascertained  that  the 
large  coins  were  ten  dollar  pieces,  and  the 
smaller  one  a  five  dollar  piece.  Bobby  was  not 
a  great  scholar,  but  he  knew  enough  of  arith 
metic  to  calculate  the  value  of  his  treasure. 
He  was  so  excited,  however,  that  he  did  not 
arrive  at  the  conclusion  half  so  quick  as  most 
of  my  young  readers  would  have  done. 

"  Thirty-five  dollars !  "  exclaimed  Bobby,  when 
the  problem  was  solved.  "  Gracious ! " 

"  Hallo,  Bob !  "  shouted  Tom  Spicer,  who  had 
got  tired  of  fishing;  besides,  the  village  clock 
was  just  striking  twelve,  and  it  was  time  for 
him  to  go  home. 

Bobby  made  no  answer,  but  hastily  tying  the 
gold  pieces  up  in  the  corner  of  his  handker 
chief,  he  threw  the  broken  rail  he  had  used  in 
stopping  the  horse  where  it  belonged,  and 
started  for  the  place  where  he  had  left  his 
fishing  apparatus. 


20  NOW  OK  NEVER;  OB, 

"Hallo,  Bob!" 

"Well,  Tom?" 
,    "Stopped  him  — didn't  you?" 

"I  did." 

"  You  were  a  fool ;  he  might  have  killed  you." 

"So  he  might;  but  I  didn't  stop  to  think  of 
that.  The  lady's  life  was  in  danger." 

"What  of  that?" 

"Everything,  I  should  say." 

"Did  he  give  you  anything?" 

"  Yes ;  "  and  Bobby  continued  his  walk  down 
to  the  river's  side. 

"  I  say,  what  did  he  give  you,  Bobby  ? "  per 
sisted  Tom,  following  him. 

"  O,  he  gave  me  a  good  deal  of  money." 

"How  much?" 

"  I  want  to  get  my  fish  line  now ;  I  will  tell 
you  all  about  it  some  other  time,"  replied 
Bobby,  who  rather  suspected  the  intentions  of 
his  companion. 

"Tell  me  now;  how  much  was  it?" 

"Never  mind  it  now." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      21 

"Humph!  Do  you  think  I  mean  to  rob 
you?" 

"  No." 

"Ain't  you  going  halveses?" 

"Why  should  I?" 

"Wasn't  I  with  you?" 

"Were  you?" 

"Wasn't  I  fishing  with  you?" 

"  You  did  not  do  anything  about  stopping 
the  horse." 

"I  would,  if  I  hadn't  been  afraid  to  go  up  to 
the  road." 

"Afraid?" 

"  Somebody  might  have  seen  me,  and  they 
would  have  known  that  I  was  hooking  jack." 

"  Then  you  ought  not  to  share  the  money." 

"Yes,  I  had.  When  a  fellow  is  with  you,  he 
ought  to  have  half.  It  is  mean  not  to  give 
him  half." 

"If  you  had  done  anything  to  help  stop  the 
horse,  I  would  have  shared  with  you.  But  you 
didn't." 


22  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

"  What  of  that  ?  " 

Bobby  was  particularly  sensitive  in  regard  to 
the  charge  of  meanness.  His  soul  was  a  great 
deal  bigger  than  his  body,  and  he  was  always 
generous,  even  to  his  own  injury,  among  his 
companions.  It  was  evident  to  him  that  Tom 
had  no  claim  to  any  part  of  the  reward ;  but 
he  could  not  endure  the  thought  even  of 
being  accused  of  meanness, 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I  will  do,  if  you  think  I 
ought  to  share  with  you.  I  will  leave  it  out  to 
Squire  Lee ;  and  if  he  thinks  you  ought  to  have 
half,  or  any  part  of  the  money,  I  will  give  it  to 
you." 

"  No,  you  don't ;  you  want  to  get  me  into  a 
scrape  for  hooking  jack.  I  see  what  you  are 
up  to." 

"I  will  state  the  case  to  him  without  telling 
him  who  the  boys  are." 

"No,  you  don't!  You  want  to  be  mean 
about  it.  Come,  hand  over  half  the  money." 

"I   will   not,"  replied    Bobby,    who,    when    it 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      23 

became  a  matter  of  compulsion,  could  stand  his 
ground  at  any  peril. 

"How  much  have  you  got?" 

"  Thirty-five  dollars." 

"  By  jolly !  And  you  mean  to  keep  it  all 
yourself?" 

"I  mean  to  give  it  to  my  mother." 

"No,  you  won't!  If  you  are  going  to  be 
mean  about  it,  I'll  smash  your  head!" 

This  was  a  favorite  expression  with  Tom 
Spicer,  who  was  a  noted  bully  among  the  boys 
of  Riverdale.  The  young  ruffian  now  placed 
himself  in  front  of  Bobby,  and  shook  his 
clenched  fist  in  his  face. 

"  Hand  over." 

"No,  I  won't.  You  have  no  claim  to  any 
part  of  the  money;  at  least,  I  think  you  have 
not.  If  you  have  a  mind  to  leave  it  out  to 
Squire  Lee,  I  will  do  what  is  right  about  it." 

"  Not  I ;  hand  over,  or  I'll  smash  your  head ! " 

"  Smash  away,"  replied  Bobby,  placing  him 
self  on  the  defensive. 


24  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"Do  you  think  you  can  lick  me?"  asked  Tom, 
not  a  little  embarrassed  by  this  exhibition  of 
resolution  on  the  part  of  his  companion. 

"I  don't  think  anything  about  it;  but  you 
don't  bully  me  in  that  kind  of  style." 

"Won't  I.?" 

"No." 

But  Tom  did  not  immediately  put  his  threat 
in  execution,  and  Bobby  would  not  be  the 
aggressor;  so  he  stepped  one  side  to  pass  his 
assailant.  Tom  took  this  as  an  evidence  of  the 
other's  desire  to  escape,  and  struck  him  a  heavy 
blow  on  the  side  of  the  head.  The  next  instant 
the  bully  was  floundering  in  the  soft  mud  of  a 
ditch;  Bobby's  reply  was  more  than  Tom  had 
bargained  for,  and  while  he  was  dragging  himself 
out  of  the  ditch,  our  hero  ran  down  to  the 
river,  and  got  his  fish  pole  and  basket. 

"  You'll  catch  it  for  that ! "  growled  Tom. 

"I'm  all  ready,  whenever  it  suits  your  con 
venience,"  replied  Bobby. 

"  Just  come  out  here  and  take  it  in  fair  fight," 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      25 

continued  Tom,  who  could  not  help  bullying, 
even  in  the  midst  of  his  misfortune. 

"  No,  I  thank  you ;  I  don't  want  to  fight  with 
any  fellow.  I  will  not  fight  if  I  can  help  it." 

"What  did  you  hit  me  for,  then?" 

"In  self-defence." 

"Just  come  out  here,  and  try  it  fair!" 

"No;"  and  Bobby  hurried  home,  leaving  the 
bully  astonished  and  discomfited  by  the  winding 
up  of  the  morning's  sport. 


26  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 


CHAPTER  III 

IN  WHICH   THE  LITTLE  BLACK   HOUSE  IS   BOUGHT 
BUT  NOT  PAID   FOR 

PROBABLY  my  young  readers  have  by  this 
time  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Bobby  Bright 
was  a  very  clever  fellow  —  one  whose  acquaint 
ance  they  would  be  happy  to  cultivate.  Perhaps 
by  this  time  they  have  become  so  far  interested  in 
him  as  to  desire  to  know  who  his  parents  were, 
what  they  did,  and  in  what  kind  of  a  house  he 
lived. 

I  hope  none  of  my  young  friends  will  think  any 
less  of  him  when  I  inform  them  that  Bobby  lived 
in  an  old  black  house  which  had  never  been 
painted,  which  had  no  flower  garden  in  front  of 
it,  and  which,  in  a  word,  was  quite  far  from  being 
a  palace.  A  great  many  very  nice  city  folks 
would  not  have  considered  it  fit  to  live  in,  would 
have  turned  up  their  noses  at  it,  and  wondered 


27 

that  any  human  beings  could  be  so  degraded  as  to 
live  in  such  a  miserable  house.  But  the  widow 
Bright,  Bobby's  mother,  thought  it  was  a  very 
comfortable  house,  and  considered  herself  very 
fortunate  in  being  able  to  get  so  good  a  dwell 
ing.  She  had  never  lived  in  a  fine  house,  knew 
nothing  about  velvet  carpets,  mirrors  seven  feet 
high,  damask  chairs  and  lounges,  or  any  of  the 
smart  things  which  very  rich  and  very  proud  city 
people  consider  absolutely  necessary  for  their 
comfort.  Her  father  had  been  a  poor  man,  her 
husband  had  died  a  poor  man,  and  her  own 
life  had  been  a  struggle  to  keep  the  demons  of 
poverty  and  want  from  invading  her  humble 
abode. 

Mr.  Bright,  her  deceased  husband,  had  been  a 
day  laborer  in  Riverdale.  He  never  got  more 
than  a  dollar  a  day,  which  was  then  considered 
very  good  wages  in  the  country.  He  was  a  very 
honest,  industrious  man,  and  while  he  lived,  his 
family  did  very  well.  Mrs.  Bright  was  a  careful, 
prudent  woman,  and  helped  him  support  the 


28  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

family.  They  never  knew  what  it  was  to  want 
for  anything. 

Poor  people,  as  well  as  rich,  have  an  ambition 
to  be  something  which  they  are  not,  or  to  have 
something  which  they  have  not.  Every  person, 
who  has  any  energy  of  character,  desires  to  get 
ahead  in  the  world.  Some  merchants,  who  own 
big  ships  and  big  warehouses  by  the  dozen,  desire 
to  be  what  they  consider  rich.  But  their  idea  of 
wealth  is  very  grand.  They  wish  to  count  it  in 
millions  of  dollars,  in  whole  blocks  of  warehouses ; 
and  they  are  even  more  discontented  than  the  day 
laborer  who  has  to  earn  his  dinner  before  he  can 
eat  it. 

Bobby's  father  and  mother  had  just  such  an 
ambition,  only  it  was  so  modest  that  the  merchant 
would  have  laughed  at  it.  They  wanted  to  own 
the  little  black  house  in  which  they  resided,  so 
that  they  could  not  only  be  sure  of  a  home  while 
they  lived,  but  have  the  satisfaction  of  living  in 
their  own  house.  This  was  a  very  reasonable 
ideal,  compared  with  that  of  the  rich  merchants 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      29 

I  have  mentioned ;  but  it  was  even  more  difficult 
for  them  to  reach  it,  for  the  wages  were  small,  and 
they  had  many  mouths  to  feed. 

Mr.  Bright  had  saved  up  fifty  dollars ;  and  he 
thought  a  great  deal  more  of  this  sum  than  many 
people  do  of  a  thousand  dollars.  He  had  had  to 
work  very  hard  and  be  very  prudent  in  order  to 
accumulate  this  sum,  which  made  him  value  it  all 
the  more  highly. 

With  this  sum  of  fifty  dollars  at  his  command, 
John  Bright  felt  rich;  and  then,  more  than  ever 
before,  he  wanted  to  own  the  little  black  house. 
He  felt  as  grand  as  a  lord;  and  as  soon  as  the 
forty -nine  dollars  had  become  fifty,  he  waited  upon 
Mr.  Hardhand,  a  little  crusty  old  man,  who  owned 
the  little  black  house,  and  proposed  to  purchase 
it. 

The  landlord  was  a  hard  man.  Everybody  in 
Riverdale  said  he  was  mean  and  stingy.  Any 
generous-hearted  man  would  have  been  willing  to 
make  an  easy  bargain  with  an  honest,  industrious, 
poor  man,  like  John  Bright,  who  wished  to  own 


30  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

the  house  in  which  he  lived ;  but  Mr.  Hardhand, 
although  he  was  rich,  only  thought  how  he  could 
make  more  money.  He  asked  the  poor  man  four 
hundred  dollars  for  the  old  house  and  the  little 
lot  of  land  on  which  it  stood. 

It  was  a  matter  of  great  concern  to  John  Bright. 
Four  hundred  dollars  was  a  "  mint  of  money,"  and 
he  could  not  see  how  he  should  ever  be  able  to 
save  so  much  from  his  daily  earnings.  So  he 
talked  with  Squire  Lee  about  it,  who  told  him 
that  three  hundred  was  all  it  was  worth.  John 
offered  this  for  it,  and  after  a  month's  hesitation 
Mr.  Hardhand  accepted  the  offer,  agreeing  to 
take  fifty  dollars  down,  and  the  rest  in  semi 
annual  payments  of  twenty-five  dollars  each  until 
the  whole  was  paid. 

I  am  thus  particular  in  telling  my  readers 
about  the  bargain,  because  this  debt  which  his 
father  contracted  was  the  means  of  making  a 
man  of  Bobby,  as  will  be  seen  in  his  subsequent 
history. 

John  Bright  paid  the  first  fifty  dollars;  but 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  B EIGHT      31 

before  the  next  instalment  became  due,  the  poor 
man  was  laid  in  his  cold  and  silent  grave.  A 
malignant  disease  carried  him  off,  and  the  hopes 
of  the  Bright  family  seemed  to  be  blasted. 

Four  children  were  left  to  the  widow.  The 
youngest  was  only  three  years  old,  and  Bobby, 
the  oldest,  was  nine,  when  his  father  died. 
Squire  Lee,  who  had  always  been  a  good  friend 
of  John  Bright,  told  the  widow  that  she  had 
better  go  to  the  poorhouse,  and  not  attempt  to 
struggle  along  with  such  fearful  odds  against 
her.  But  the  widow  nobly  refused  to  become 
a  pauper,  and  to  make  paupers  of  her  children, 
whom  she  loved  quite  as  much  as  though  she 
and  they  had  been  born  in  a  ducal  palace.  She 
told  the  squire  that  she  had  two  hands,  and 
as  long  as  she  had  her  health,  the  town  need 
not  trouble  itself  about  her  support. 

Squire  Lee  was  filled  with  surprise  and  ad 
miration  at  the  noble  resolution  of  the  poor 
woman ;  and  when  he  returned  to  his  house, 
he  immediately  sent  her  a  cord  of  wood,  ten 


32  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

bushels  of  potatoes,  two  bags  of  meal,  and  a 
firkin  of  salt  pork. 

The  widow  was  very  grateful  for  these  articles, 
and  no  false  pride  prevented  her  from  accepting 
the  gift  of  her  rich  and  kind-hearted  neighbor. 

Riverdale  Centre  was  largely  engaged  in  the 
manufacturing  of  boots  and  shoes,  and  this  busi 
ness  gave  employment  to  a  large  number  of 
men  and  women. 

Mrs.  Bright  had  for  several  years  "closed" 
shoes  —  which,  my  readers  who  do  not  live  in 
"  shoe  towns "  may  not  know,  means  sewing  or 
stitching  them.  To  this  business  she  applied 
herself  with  renewed  energy.  There  was  a  large 
hotel  in  Riverdale  Centre,  where  several  families 
from  Boston  spent  the  summer.  By  the  aid  of 
Squire  Lee,  she  obtained  the  washing  of  these 
families,  which  was  more  profitable  than  closing 
shoes. 

By  these  means  she  not  only  supported  her 
family  very  comfortably,  but  was  able  to  save 
a  little  money  towards  paying  for  the  house. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      33 

Mr.  Hardhand,  by  the  persuasions  of  Squire 
Lee,  had  consented  to  let  the  widow  keep  the 
house,  and  pay  for  it  as  she  could. 

John  Bright  had  been  dead  four  years  at  the 
time  we  introduce  Bobby  to  the  reader.  Mrs. 
Bright  had  paid  another  hundred  dollars  towards 
the  house,  with  the  interest;  so  there  was  now 
but  one  hundred  due.  Bobby  had  learned  to 
"close,"  and  helped  his  mother  a  great  deal; 
but  the  confinement  and  the  stooping  posture 
did  not  agree  with  his  health,  and  his  mother 
was  obliged  to  dispense  with  his  assistance. 
But  the  devoted  little  fellow  found  a  great 
many  ways  of  helping  her.  He  was  now  thir 
teen,  and  was  as  handy  about  the  house  as  a 
girl.  When  he  was  not  better  occupied,  he 
would  often  go  to  the  river  and  catch  a  mess 
of  fish,  which  was  so  much  clear  gain. 

The  winter  which  had  just  passed  had  brought 
a  great  deal  of  sickness  to  the  little  black 
house.  The  children  all  had  the  measles,  and 
two  of  them  the  scarlet  fever,  so  that  Mrs. 


34  NOW  OB  NEVER;   OB, 

Bright  could  not  work  much.  Her  affairs  were 
not  in  a  very  prosperous  condition  when  the 
spring  opened;  but  the  future  was  bright,  and 
the  widow,  trusting  in  Providence,  believed  that 
all  would  end  well. 

One  thing  troubled  her.  She  had  not  been 
able  to  save  anything  for  Mr.  Hardhand.  She 
could  only  pay  her  interest ;  but  she  hoped  by 
the  first  of  July  to  give  him  twenty-five  dollars 
of  the  principal.  But  the  first  of  July  came, 
and  she  had  only  five  dollars  of  the  sum  she 
had  partly  promised  her  creditor.  She  could  not 
so  easily  recover  from  the  disasters  of  the  hard 
winter,  and  she  had  but  just  paid  off  the  lit 
tle  debts  she  had  contracted.  She  was  nervous 
and  uneasy  as  the  day  approached.  Mr.  Hard- 
hand  always  abused  her  when  she  told  him  she 
could  not  pay  him,  and  she  dreaded  his  coming. 

It  was  the  first  of  July  on  which  Bobby 
caught  those  pouts,  caught  the  horse,  and  on 
which  Tom  Spicer  had  "caught  a  Tartar." 

Bobby  hastened  home,  as  we  said  at  the  con- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      35 

elusion  of  the  last  chapter.  He  was  as  happy 
as  a  lord.  He  had  fish  enough  in  his  basket 
for  dinner,  and  for  breakfast  the  next  morning, 
and  money  enough  in  his  pocket  to  make  his 
mother  as  happy  as  a  queen,  if  queens  are 
always  happy. 

The  widow  Bright,  though  she  had  worried 
and  fretted  night  and  day  about  the  money 
which  was  to  be  paid  to  Mr.  Hardhand  on  the 
first  of  July,  had  not  told  her  son  anything 
about  it.  It  would  only  make  him  unhappy, 
she  reasoned,  and  it  was  needless  to  make  the 
dear  boy  miserable  for  nothing;  so  Bobby  ran 
home  all  unconscious  of  the  pleasure  which  was 
in  store  for  him. 

When  he  reached  the  front  door,  as  he  stopped 
to  scrape  his  feet  on  the  sharp  stone  there,  as 
all  considerate  boys  who  love  their  mothers  do, 
before  they  go  into  the  house,  he  heard  the 
angry  tones  of  Mr.  Hardhand.  He  was  scold 
ing  and  abusing  his  mother  because  she  could 
not  pay  him  the  twenty-five  dollars. 


36  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Bobby's  blood  boiled  with  indignation,  and 
his  first  impulse  was  to  serve  him  as  he  had 
served  Tom  Spicer,  only  a  few  moments  before ; 
but  Bobby,  as  we  have  before  intimated,  was  a 
peaceful  boy,  and  not  disposed  to  quarrel  with 
any  person ;  so  he  contented  himself  with  mut 
tering  a  few  hard  words. 

"The  wretch!  What  business  has  he  to  talk 
to  my  mother  in  that  style  ?  "  said  he  to  himself. 
"I  have  a  great  mind  to  kick  him  out  of  the 
house." 

But  Bobby's  better  judgment  came  to  his  aid; 
and  perhaps  he  realized  that  he  and  his  mother 
would  only  get  kicked  out  in  return.  He  could 
battle  with  Mr.  Hardhand,  but  not  with  the 
power  which  his  wealth  gave  him;  so,  like  a 
great  many  older  persons  in  similar  circumstances, 
he  took  counsel  of  prudence  rather  than  im 
pulse. 

"Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,"  saith  the 
Scripture ;  but  Bobby  was  not  old  enough  or 
astute  enough  to,  realize  that  Mr.  Hardhand's 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      37 

burden  was  his  wealth,  his  love  of  money;  that 
it  made  him  little  better  than  a  Hottentot;  and 
he  could  not  feel  as  charitably  towards  him  as 
a  Christian  should  towards  his  erring,  weak 
brother. 

Setting  his  pole  by  the  door,  he  entered  the 
room  where  Hardhand  was  abusing  his  mother. 


38  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN    WHICH    BOBBY    GETS    OUT    OP    ONE    SCRAPE, 
AND  INTO  ANOTHER 

BOBBY  was  so  indignant  at  the  conduct  of 
Mr.  Hardhand,  that  he  entirely  forgot  the  ad 
venture  of  the  morning ;  and  he  did  not  even 
think  of  the  gold  he  had  in  his  pocket.  He 
loved  his  mother;  he  knew  how  hard  she  had 
worked  for  him  and  his  brother  and  sisters; 
that  she  had  burned  the  "midnight  oil"  at  her 
clamps;  and  it  made  him  feel  very  bad  to  hear 
her  abused  as  Mr.  Hardhand  was  abusing  her. 
It  was  not  her  fault  that  she  had  not  the 
money  to  pay  him.  She  had  been  obliged  to 
spend  a  large  portion  of  her  time  over  the  sick 
beds  of  her  children,  so  that  she  could  not  earn 
so  much  money  as  usual ;  while  the  family  ex 
penses  were  necessarily  much  greater. 

Bobby    knew    also    that    Mr.    Hardhand    was 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      39 

aware  of  all  the  circumstances  of  his  mother's 
position,  and  the  more  he  considered  the  case 
the  more  brutal  and  inhuman  was  his  course. 

As  our  hero  entered  the  family  room  with 
the  basket  of  fish  on  his  arm,  the  little  crusty 
old  man  fixed  the  glance  of  his  evil  eye  upon 
him. 

"There  is  that  boy,  marm,  idling  away  his 
time  by  the  river,  and  eating  you  out  of  house 
and  home,"  said  the  wretch.  "Why  don't  you 
set  him  to  work,  and  make  him  earn  some 
thing?" 

"  Bobby  is  a  very  good  boy,"  meekly  responded 
the  widow  Bright. 

"  Humph !  I  should  think  he  was.  A  great 
lazy  lubber  like  him,  living  on  his  mother!" 
and  Mr.  Hardhand  looked  contemptuously  at 
Bobby. 

"I  am  not  a  lazy  lubber,"  interposed  the 
insulted  boy  with  spirit. 

"  Yes,  you  are.  Why  don't  you  go  to 
work?" 


40  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"I  do  work." 

"No,  you  don't;  you  waste  your  time  pad 
dling  in  the  river." 

"I  don't." 

"You  had  better  teach  this  boy  manners  too, 
marm,"  said  the  creditor,  who,  like  all  men  of 
small  souls,  was  willing  to  take  advantage  of 
the  power  which  the  widow's  indebtedness 
gave  him.  "He  is  saucy." 

"I  should  like  to  know  who  taught  you 
manners,  Mr.  Hardhand,"  replied  Bobby,  whose 
indignation  was  rapidly  getting  the  better  of 
his  discretion. 

"  What ! "  growled  Mr.  Hardhand,  aghast  at 
this  unwonted  boldness. 

"  I  heard  what  you  said  before  I  came  in ; 
and  no  decent  man  would  go  to  the  house  of 
a  poor  woman  to  insult  her." 

"  Humph !  Mighty  fine,"  snarled  the  little 
old  man,  his  gray  eyes  twinkling  with  malice. 

"  Don't,  Bobby ;  don't  be  saucy  to  the  gentle 
man,"  interposed  his  mother. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      41 

"  Saucy,  marm  ?  You  ought  to  horsewhip 
him  for  it.  If  you  don't,  I  will." 

"No,  you  won't!"  replied  Bobby,  shaking 
his  head  significantly.  "I  can  take  care  of 
myself." 

"  Did  any  one  ever  hear  such  impudence ! " 
gasped  Mr.  Hardhand. 

"Don't,  Bobby,  don't,"  pleaded  the  anxious 
mother. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  right  you 
have  to  come  here  and  abuse  my  mother," 
continued  Bobby,  who  could  not  restrain  his 
anger. 

"  Your  mother  owes  me  money,  and  she  doesn't 
pay  it,  you  young  scoundrel!"  answered  Mr. 
Hardhand,  foaming  with  rage. 

"That  is  no  reason  why  you  should  insult 
her.  You  can  call  me  what  you  please,  but 
you  shall  not  insult  my  mother  while  I'm 
round." 

"  Your  mother  is  a  miserable  woman,  and " 

"Say  that  again,  and   though  you  are  an  old 


42  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OB, 

man,  I'll  hit  you  for  it.  I'm  big  enough  to 
protect  my  mother,  and  I'll  do  it." 

Bobby  doubled  up  his  fists  and  edged  up  to 
Mr.  Hardhand,  fully  determined  to  execute  his 
threat  if  he  repeated  the  offensive  expression, 
or  any  other  of  a  similar  import.  He  was 
roused  to  the  highest  pitch  of  anger,  and  felt 
as-  though  he  had  just  as  lief  die  as  live  in 
defence  of  his  mother's  good  name. 

I  am  not  sure  that  I  could  excuse  Bobby's 
violence  under  any  other  circumstances.  He 
loved  his  mother  —  as  the  novelists  would  say, 
he  idolized  her;  and  Mr.  Hardhand  had  cer 
tainly  applied  some  very  offensive  epithets  to 
her  —  epithets  which  no  good  son  could  calmly 
hear  applied  to  a  mother.  Besides,  Bobby, 
though  his  heart  was  a  large  one,  and  was  in 
the  right  place,  had  never  been  educated  into 
those  nice  distinctions  of  moral  right  and  wrong 
which  control  the  judgment  of  wise  and  learned 
men.  He  had  an  idea  that  violence,  resistance 
with  blows,  was  allowable  in  certain  extreme 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      43 

cases ;  and  he  could  conceive  of  no  greater 
provocation  than  an  insult  to  his  mother. 

"Be  calm,  Bobby;  you  are  in  a  passion,"  said 
Mrs.  Bright. 

"  I  am  surprised,  marm,"  began  Mr.  Hardhand, 
who  prudently  refrained  from  repeating  the 
offensive  language  —  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  was 
surprised ;  for  he  looked  both  astonished  and 
alarmed.  "  This  boy  has  a  most  ungovernable 
temper." 

"  Don't  you  worry  about  my  temper,  Mr.  Hard- 
hand  ;  I'll  take  care  of  myself.  All  I  want  of  you 
is  not  to  insult  my  mother.  You  may  say  what 
you  like  to  me;  but  don't  you  call  her  hard 
names." 

Mr.  Hardhand,  like  all  mean,  little  men,  was 
a  coward ;  and  he  was  effectually  intimidated  by 
the  bold  and  manly  conduct  of  the  boy.  He 
changed  his  tone  and  manner  at  once. 

"You  have  no  money  for  me,  marm?"  said  he, 
edging  towards  the  door. 

"No,  sir;  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  have  been 


44  NOW  OB  NEVER;   OR, 

able  to  save  only  five  dollars  since  I  paid  you 
last;  but  I  hope " 

"Never  mind,  marm,  never  mind;  I  shall  not 
trouble  myself  to  come  here  again,  where  I  am 
liable  to  be  kicked  by  this  ill-bred  cub.  No, 
marm,  I  shall  not  come  again.  Let  the  law  take 
its  course." 

"  O,  mercy !  See  what  you  have  brought  upon 
us,  Bobby,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Bright,  bursting  into 
tears. 

"Yes,  marm,  let  the  law  take  its  course." 

"O,  Bobby!  Stop  a  moment,  Mr.  Hardhand; 
do  stop  a  moment." 

"  Not  a  moment,  marm.  We'll  see ; "  and  Mr. 
Hardhand  placed  his  hand  upon  the  latch  string. 

Bobby  felt  very  uneasy  and  very  unhappy  at 
that  moment.  His  passion  had  subsided,  and  he 
realized  that  he  had  done  a  great  deal  of  mischief 
by  his  impetuous  conduct. 

Then  the  remembrance  of  his  morning  advent 
ure  on  the  bridge  came  like  a  flash  of  sunshine 
to  his  mind,  and  he  eagerly  drew  from  his  pocket 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      45 

the  handkerchief  in  which  he  had  deposited  the 
precious  gold,  —  doubly  precious  now,  because 
it  would  enable  him  to  retrieve  the  error  into 
which  he  had  fallen,  and  do  something  towards 
relieving  his  mother's  embarrassment.  With  a 
trembling  hand  he  untied  the  knot  which  secured 
the  money. 

"  Here,  mother,  here  is  thirty-five  dollars ; " 
and  he  placed  it  in  her  hand. 

"  Why,  Bobby  !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Bright. 

"  Pay  him,  mother,  pay  him,  and  I  will  tell  you 
all  about  it  by  and  by." 

"  Thirty-five  dollars  !  and  all  in  gold !  Where 
did  you  get  it,  Bobby  ?  " 

"  Never  mind  it  now,  mother." 

Mr.  Hardhand's  covetous  soul  had  already 
grasped  the  glittering  gold ;  and  removing  his 
hand  from  the  latch  string,  he  approached  the 
widow. 

"  I  shall  be  able  to  pay  you  forty  dollars  now," 
said  Mrs.  Bright,  taking  the  five  dollars  she  had 
saved  from  her  pocket. 


46  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"Yes,  marm." 

Mr.  Hardhand  took  the  money,  and  seating 
himself  at  the  table,  indorsed  the  amount  on  the 
back  of  the  note. 

"  You  owe  me  sixty  more,"  said  he,  maliciously, 
as  he  returned  the  note,  to  his  pocket  book.  "  It 
must  be  paid  immediately." 

"  You  must  not  be  hard  with  me  now,  when  I 
have  paid  more  than  you  demanded." 

"  I  don't  wish  to  come  here  again.  That  boy's 
impudence  has  put  me  all  out  of  conceit  with  you 
and  your  family,"  replied  Mr.  Hardhand,  assum 
ing  the  most  benevolent  look  he  could  command. 
"  There  was  a  time  when  I  was  very  willing  to 
help  you.  I  have  waited  a  great  while  for  my 
pay  for  this  house;  a  great  deal  longer  than  I 
would  have  waited  for  anybody  else." 

"Your  interest  has  always  been  paid  punctu 
ally,"  suggested  the  widow,  modestly. 

"  That's  true ;  but  very  few  people  would  have 
waited  as  long  as  I  have  for  the  principal.  I 
wanted  to  help  you " 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      47 

"  By  gracious ! "  exclaimed  Bobby,  interrupting 
him. 

"Don't  be  saucy,  my  son,  don't,"  said  Mrs. 
Bright,  fearing  a  repetition  of  the  former  scene. 

"He  wanted  to  help  us!"  ejaculated  Bobby. 

It  was  a  very  absurd  and  hypocritical  expres 
sion  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Hardhand;  for  he  never 
wanted  to  help  any  one  but  himself;  and  dur 
ing  the  whole  period  of  his  relations  with  the 
poor  widow,  he  had  oppressed,  insulted,  and 
abused  her  to  the  extent  of  his  capacity,  or  at 
least  as  far  as  his  interest  would  permit. 

He  was  a  malicious  and  revengeful  man.  He 
did  not  consider  the  great  provocation  he  had 
given  Bobby  for  his  violent  conduct,  but  deter 
mined  to  be  revenged,  if  it  could  be  accom 
plished  without  losing  any  part  of  the  sixty 
dollars  still  due  him.  He  was  a  wicked  man 
at  heart,  and  would  not  scruple  to  turn  the 
widow  and  her  family  out  of  house  and  home. 

Mrs.  Bright  knew  this,  and  Bobby  knew  it 
too;  and  they  felt  very  uneasy  about  it.  The 


48  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

wretch  still  had  the  power  to  injure  them,  and 
he  would  use  it  without  compunction. 

"Yes,  young  man,  I  wanted  to  help  you,  and 
you  see  what  I  get  for  it  —  contempt  and 
insults!  You  will  hear  from  me  again  in  a  day 
or  two.  Perhaps  you  will  change  your  tune, 
you  young  reprobate!" 

"Perhaps  I  shall,"  replied  Bobby,  without 
much  discretion. 

"And  you  too,  marm;  you  uphold  him  in 
his  treatment  of  me.  You  have  not  done  your 
duty  to  him.  You  have  been  remiss,  marm ! " 
continued  Mr.  Hardhand,  growing  bolder  again, 
as  he  felt  the  power  he  wielded. 

"  That  will  do,  sir ;  you  can  go ! "  said  Bobby, 
springing  from  his  chair,  and  approaching  Mr. 
Hardhand.  "  Go,  and  do  your  worst ! " 

"  Humph !  you  stump  me,  —  do  you  ?  " 

"I  would  rather  see  my  mother  kicked  out 
of  the  house  than  insulted  by  such  a  dried-up 
old  curmudgeon  as  you  are.  Go  along!" 

"  Now,  don't,  Bobby,"  pleaded  his  mother. 


THE  ADVENTUEES   OF  BOBBY  BEIGHT      49 

"I  am  going;  and  if  the  money  is  not  paid 
by  twelve  o'clock  to-morrow,  the  law  shall  take 
its  course;"  and  Mr.  Hardhand  rushed  out  of 
the  house,  slamming  the  door  violently  after 
him. 

"  O,  Bobby,  what  have  you  done  ? "  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Bright,  when  the  hard-hearted  creditor  had 
departed. 

"  I  could  not  help  it,  mother ;  don't  cry.  I 
cannot  bear  to  hear  you  insulted  and  abused; 
and  I  thought  when  I  heard  him  do  it  a  year 
ago,  that  I  couldn't  stand  it  again.  It  is  too 
bad." 

"  But  he  will  turn  us  out  of  the  house ;  and 
what  shall  we  do  then?" 

"  Don't  cry,  mother  ;  it  will  come  round  all  right. 
I  have  friends  who  are  rich  and  powerful,  and 
who  will  help  us." 

"  You  don't  know  what  you  say,  Bobby.  Sixty 
dollars  is  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  if  we  should 
sell  all  we  have,  it  would  scarcely  bring  that." 

"  Leave  it  all  to  me,  mother ;  I  feel  as  though 


50  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OB, 

I  could  do  something  now.  I  am  old  enough  to 
make  money." 

"What  can  you  do?" 

"  Now  or  never !  "  replied  Bobby,  whose  mind 
had  wandered  from  the  scene  to  the  busy  world, 
where  fortunes  are  made  and  lost  every  day. 
"  Now  or  never ! "  muttered  he  again. 

"  But,  Bobby,  you  have  not  told  me  where  you 
got  all  that  gold." 

"  Dinner  is  ready,  I  see,  and  I  will  tell  you 
while  we  eat." 

Bobby  had  been  a  fishing,  and  to  be  hungry  is 
a  part  of  the  fisherman's  luck ;  so  he  seated  him 
self  at  the  table,  and  gave  his  mother  a  full 
account  of  all  that  had  occurred  at  the  bridge. 

The  fond  mother  trembled  when  she  realized 
the  peril  her  son  had  incurred  for  the  sake  of  the 
young  lady ;  but  her  maternal  heart  swelled  with 
admiration  in  view  of  the  generous  deed,  and  she 
thanked  God  that  she  was  the  mother  of  such  a 
son.  She  felt  more  confidence  in  him  then  than 
she  had  ever  felt  before,  and  she  realized  that 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      51 

he  would  be  the  stay  and  the  staff  of  her  declin 
ing  years. 

Bobby  finished  his  dinner,  and  seated  himself 
on  the  front  door  step.  His  mind  was  absorbed 
by  a  new  and  brilliant  idea ;  and  for  half  an  hour 
he  kept  up  a  most  tremendous  thinking. 

"  Now  or  never ! "  said  he,  as  he  rose  and 
walked  down  the  road  towards  Riverdale  Centre. 


52  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 


CHAPTER  V 

IN    WHICH    BOBBY    GIVES    HIS    NOTE    FOE    SIXTY 
DOLLARS 

A  GREAT  idea  was  born  in  Bobby's  brain.  His 
mother's  weakness  and  the  insecurity  of  her 
position  were  more  apparent  to  him  than  they 
had  ever  been  before.  She  was  in  the  power  of 
her  creditor,  who  might  turn  her  out  of  the  little 
black  house,  sell  the  place  at  auction,  and  thus, 
perhaps,  deprive  her  of  the  whole  or  a  large  part 
of  his  father's  and  her  own  hard  earnings. 

But  this  was  not  the  peculiar  hardship  of  her 
situation,  as  her  devoted  son  understood  it.  It 
was  not  the  hard  work  alone  which  she  was  called 
upon  to  perform,  not  the  coarseness  of  the  fare 
upon  which  they  lived,  not  the  danger  even  of 
being  turned  out  of  doors,  that  distressed  Bobby ; 
it  was  that  a  wretch  like  Mr.  Hardhand  could 
insult  and  trample  upon  his  mother.  He  had  just 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      53 

heard  him  use  language  to  her  that  made  his 
blood  boil  with  indignation,  and  he  did  not,  on 
cool,  sober,  second  thought,  regret  that  he  had 
taken  such  a  decided  stand  against  it. 

He  cared  not  for  himself.  He  could  live  on  a 
crust  of  bread  and  a  cup  of  water  from  the  spring ; 
he  could  sleep  in  a  barn ;  he  could  wear  coarse 
and  even  ragged  clothes;  but  he  could  not  sub 
mit  to  have  his  mother  insulted,  and  by  such  a 
mean  and  contemptible  person  as  Mr.  Hardhand. 

Yet  what  could  he  do?  He  was  but  a  boy, 
and  the  great  world  would  look  with  contempt 
upon  his  puny  form.  But  he  felt  that  he  was  not 
altogether  insignificant.  He  had  performed  an 
act  that  day,  which  the  fair  young  lady,  to  whom 
he  had  rendered  the  service,  had  declared  very 
few  men  would  have  undertaken.  There  was 
something  in  him,  something  that  would  come 
out,  if  he  only  put  his  best  foot  forward.  It  was 
a  tower  of  strength  within  him.  It  told  him  that 
he  could  do  wonders ;  that  he  could  go  out  into 
the  world  and  accomplish  all  that  would  be  re- 


54  NO W  OB  NEVER;  OB, 

quired  to  free  his  mother  from  debt,  and  relieve 
her  from  the  severe  drudgery  of  her  life. 

A  great  many  people  think  they  can  "  do  won 
ders."  The  vanity  of  some  very  silly  people 
makes  them  think  they  can  command  armies, 
govern  nations,  and  teach  the  world  what  the 
world  never  knew  before  and  never  would 
know  but  for  them.  But  Bobby's  something 
within  him  was  not  vanity.  It  was  something 
more  substantial.  He  was  not  thinking  of  be 
coming  a  great  man,  a  great  general,  a  great  ruler, 
or  a  great  statesman ;  not  even  of  making  a  great 
fortune.  Self  was  not  the  idol  and  the  end  of 
his  calculations.  He  was  thinking  of  his  mother, 
and  only  of  her;  and  the  feeling  within  him  was 
as  pure,  and  holy,  and  beautiful  as  the  dream  of 
an  angel.  He  wanted  to  save  his  mother  from 
insult  in  the  first  place,  and  from  a  life  of  cease 
less  drudgery  in  the  second. 

A  legion  of  angels  seemed  to  have  encamped 
in  his  soul  to  give  him  strength  for  the  great  pur 
pose  in  his  mind.  His  was  a  holy  and  a  true 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      55 

purpose,  and  it  was  this  that  made  him  think  he 
could  "do  wonders." 

What  Bobby  intended  to  do  the  reader  shall 
know  in  due  time.  It  is  enough  now  that  he 
meant  to  do  something.  The  difficulty  with  a 
great  many  people  is,  that  they  never  resolve  to 
do  something.  They  wait  for  "something  to 
turn  up;"  and  as  "/things"  are  often  very  ob 
stinate,  they  utterly  refuse  to  "  turn  up  "  at  all. 
Their  lives  are  spent  in  waiting  for  a  golden 
opportunity  which  never  comes. 

Now,  Bobby  Bright  repudiated  the  Micawber 
philosophy.  He  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
it.  He  did  not  believe  corn  would  grow  with 
out  being  planted,  or  that  pouts  would  bite  the 
bare  hook. 

I  am  not  going  to  tell  my  young  readers  now 
how  Bobby  came  out  in  the  end ;  but  I  can  con 
fidently  say  that,  if  he  had  waited  for  "  something 
to  turn  up,"  he  would  have  become  a  vagabond, 
a  loafer,  out  of  money,  out  at  the  elbows,  and  out 
of  patience  with  himself  and  all  the  world. 


56  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

It  was  "  now  or  never  "  with  Bobby.  He  meant 
to  do  something;  and  after  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  how  and  where  it  was  to  be  done,  it  was  no 
use  to  stand  thinking  about  it,  like  the  pendulum 
of  the  "  old  clock  which  had  stood  for  fifty  years 
in  a  farmer's  kitchen,  without  giving  its  owner 
any  cause  of  complaint." 

Bobby  walked  down  the  road  towards  the 
village  with  a  rapid  step.  He  was  thinking  very 
fast,  and  probably  that  made  him  step  quick. 
But  as  he  approached  Squire  Lee's  house,  his 
pace  slackened,  and  he  seemed  to  be  very  uneasy. 
When  he  reached  the  great  gate  that  led  up  to 
the  house,  he  stopped  for  an  instant,  and  thrust 
his  hands  down  very  deep  into  his  trousers  pockets. 
I  cannot  tell  what  the  trousers  pockets  had  to  do 
with  what  he  was  thinking  about ;  but  if  he  was 
searching  for  anything  in  them,  he  did  not  find 
it;  for  after  an  instant's  hesitation  he  drew 
out  his  hands,  struck  one  of  them  against  his 
chest,  and  in  an  audible  voice  exclaimed, — 

"Now  or  never." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      57 

All  this  pantomime,  I  suppose,  meant  that 
Bobby  had  some  misgivings  as  to  the  ultimate 
success  of  his  mission  at  Squire  Lee's,  and  that 
when  he  struck  his  breast  and  uttered  his 
favorite  expression,  they  were  conquered  and 
driven  out. 

Marching  with  a  bold  and  determined  step  up 
to  the  squire's  back  door,  —  Bobby's  ideas  of  eti 
quette  would  not  have  answered  for  the  merid 
ian  of  fashionable  society,  —  he  gave  three 
smart  raps. 

Bobby's  heart  beat  a  little  wildly  as  he 
awaited  a  response  to  his  summons.  It  seemed 
that  he  still  had  some  doubts  as  to  the  prac 
ticability  of  his  mission;  but  they  were  not 
permitted  to  disturb  him  long,  for  the  door  was 
opened  by  the  squire's  pretty  daughter  Annie, 
a  young  miss  of  twelve. 

"O,  Bobby,  is  it  you?  I  am  so  glad  you 
have  come ! "  exclaimed  the  little  lady. 

Bobby  blushed  —  he  didn't  know  why,  unless 
it  was  that  the  young  lady  desired  to  see  him. 


58  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

He  stammered  out  a  reply,  and  for  the  moment 
forgot  the  object  of  his  visit. 

"I  want  you  to  go  down  to  the  village  for 
me,  and  get  some  books  the  expressman  was  to 
bring  up  from  Boston  for  me.  Will  you  go?" 

"Certainly,  Miss  Annie,  I  shall  be  very  glad 
to  go  for  you"  replied  Bobby,  with  an  emphasis 
that  made  the  little  maiden  blush  in  her  turn. 

"  You  are  real  good,  Bobby ;  but  I  will  give 
you  something  for  going." 

"I  don't  want  anything,"  said  Bobby,  stoutly. 

"  You  are  too  generous !  Ah,  I  heard  what 
you  did  this  forenoon;  and  pa  says  that  a  great 
many  men  would  not  have  dared  to  do  what 
you  did.  I  always  thought  you  were  as  brave 
as  a  lion;  now  I  know  it." 

"The  books  are  at  the  express  office,  I  sup 
pose,"  said  Bobby,  turning  as  red  as  a  blood 
beet. 

"Yes,  Bobby;  I  am  so  anxious  to  get  them 
that  I  can't  wait  till  pa  goes  down  this 
evening." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      59 

"I  will  not  be  gone  long." 

"O,  you  needn't  run,  Bobby;  take  your 
time." 

"  I  will  go  very  quick.  But,  Miss  Annie,  is 
your  father  at  home?" 

"  Not  now ;  he  has  gone  over  to  the  wood 
lot;  but  he  will  be  back  by  the  time  you 
return." 

"Will  you  please  to  tell  him  that  I  want  to 
see  him  about  something  very  particular,  when 
he  gets  back?" 

"I  will,  Bobby." 

"  Thank  you,  Miss  Annie ; "  and  Bobby 
hastened  to  the  village  to  execute  his 
commission. 

"I  wonder  what  he  wants  to  see  pa  so  very 
particularly  for,"  said  the  young  lady  to  herself, 
as  she  watched  his  receding  form.  "In  my 
opinion,  something  has  happened  at  the  little 
black  house,  for  I  could  see  that  he  looked 
very  sober." 

Either  Bobby  had  a  very  great  regard  for  the 


60  NOW  OB  NEVER;   OR, 

young  lady,  and  wished  to  relieve  her  im 
patience  to  behold  the  coveted  books,  or  he  was 
in  a  hurry  to  see  Squire  Lee  ;  for  the  squire's 
old  roan  horse  could  hardly  have  gone  quicker. 

"  You  should  not  have  run,  Bobby,"  said  the 
little  maiden,  when  he  placed  the  books  in  her 
hand ;  "  I  would  not  have  asked  you  to  go  if  I 
had  thought  you  would  run  all  the  way.  You 
must  be  very  tired." 

"Not  at  all;  I  didn't  run,  only  walked  very 
quick,"  replied  he;  but  his  quick  breathing 
indicated  that  his  words  or  his  walk  had  been 
very  much  exaggerated.  "Has  your  father 
returned  ?  " 

"He  has;  he  is  waiting  for  you  in  the  sitting 
room.  Come  in,  Bobby." 

Bobby  followed  her  into  the  room,  and  took 
the  chair  which  Annie  offered  him. 

"How  do  you  do,  Bobby?  I  am  glad  to  see 
you,"  said  the  squire,  taking  him  by  the  hand, 
and  bestowing  a  benignant  smile  upon  him  — 
a  smile  which  cheered  his  heart  more  than  any- 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      61 

thing  else,  could  at  that  moment.  "I  have 
heard  of  you  before,  to-day." 

"Have  you?" 

"I  have,  Bobby;  you  are  a  brave  little 
fellow." 

"I  came  over  to  see  you,  sir,  about  something 
very  particular,"  replied  Bobby,  whose  natural 
modesty  induced  him  to  change  the  topic. 

"  Indeed ;  well,  what  can  I  do  for  you  ?  " 

"A  great  deal,  sir;  perhaps  you  will  think 
I  am  very  bold,  sir,  but  I  can't  help  it." 

"I  know  you  are  a  very  bold  little  fellow, 
or  you  would  not  have  done  what  you  did  this 
forenoon,"  laughed  the  squire. 

"I  didn't  mean  that,  sir,"  answered  Bobby, 
blushing  up  to  the  eyes. 

"I  know  you  didn't;  but  go  on." 

"I  only  meant  that  you  would  think  me 
presuming,  or  impudent,  or  something  of  that 
kind." 

"  O,  no,  far  from  it.  You  cannot  be  presum 
ing  or  impudent.  Speak  out,  Bobby;  anything 


62  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

under  the  heavens  that  I  can  do  for  you,  I 
shall  be  glad  to  do." 

"Well,  sir,  I  am  going  to  leave  Riverdale." 

"Leave  Riverdale!" 

"  Yes,  sir ;  I  am  going  to  Boston,  where  I 
mean  to  do  something  to  help  mother." 

"Bravo!  you  are  a  good  lad.  What  do  you 
mean  to  do?" 

"I  was  thinking  I  should  go  into  the  book 
business." 

"  Indeed ! "  and  Squire  Lee  was  much  amused 
by  the  matter-of-fact  manner  of  the  young 
aspirant. 

"  I  was  talking  with  a  young  fellow  who  went 
through  the  place  last  spring,  selling  books. 
He  told  me  that  some  days  he  made  three  or 
four  dollars,  and  that  he  averaged  twelve  dollars 
a  week." 

"He  did  well;  perhaps,  though,  only  a  few 
of  them  make  so  much." 

"I  know  I  can  make  twelve  dollars  a  week," 
replied  Bobby,  confidently,  for  that  something 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BEIGHT      63 

within  him  made  him  feel  capable  of  great 
things. 

"I  dare  say  you  can.  You  have  energy  and 
perseverance,  and  people  take  a  liking  to 
you." 

"But  I  wanted  to  see  you  about  another  mat 
ter.  To  speak  out  at  once,  I  want  to  borrow 
sixty  dollars  of  you;"  and  Bobby  blushed,  and 
seemed  very  much  embarrassed  by  his  own  bold 
ness. 

"Sixty  dollars!"  exclaimed  the  squire. 

"I  knew  you  would  think  me  impudent,"  re 
plied  our  hero,  his  heart  sinking  within  him. 

"But  I  don't,  Bobby.  You  want  the  money 
to  go  into  business  with  —  to  buy  your  stock  of 
books?" 

"O,  no,  sir;  I  am  going  to  apply  to  Mr. 
Bayard  for  that." 

"  Just  so ;  Mr.  Bayard  is  the  gentleman  whose 
daughter  you  saved?" 

"Yes,  sir.  I  want  this  money  to  pay  off  Mr. 
Hardhand.  We  owe  him  but  sixty  dollars  now, 


64  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

and  he  has  threatened  to  turn  us  out,  if  it  is 
not  paid  by  to-morrow  noon." 

"  The  old  hunks  !  " 

Bobby  briefly  related  to  the  squire  the  events 
of  the  morning,  much  to  the  indignation  and 
disgust  of  the  honest,  kind-hearted  man.  The 
courageous  boy  detailed  more  clearly  his  pur 
pose,  and  doubted  not  he  should  be  able  to  pay 
the  loan  in  a  few  months. 

"Very  well,  Bobby,  here  is  the  money;"  and 
the  squire  took  it  from  his  wallet,  and  gave  it 
to  him. 

"Thank  you,  sir.  May  Heaven  bless  you! 
I  shall  certainly  pay  you." 

"Don't  worry  about  it,  Bobby.  Pay  it  when 
you  get  ready." 

"I  will  give  you  my  note,  and " 

The  squire  laughed  heartily  at  this,  and  told 
him  that,  as  he  was  a  minor,  his  note  was  not 
good  for  anything. 

"You  shall  see  whether  it  is,  or  not,"  re 
turned  Bobby.  "  Let  me  give  it  to  you,  at 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      65 

least,  so  that  we  can  tell  how  much  I  owe  you 
from  time  to  time." 

"You  shall  have  your  own  way." 

Annie  Lee,  as  much  amused  as  her  father  at 
Bobby's  big  talk,  got  the  writing  materials,  and 
the  little  merchant  in  embryo  wrote  and  signed 
the  note. 

"Good,  Bobby!  Now  promise  that  you  will 
come  and  see  me  every  time  you  come  home, 
and  tell  me  how  you  are  getting  along." 

"  I  will,  sir,  with  the  greatest  pleasure ; "  and 
with  a  light  heart  Bobby  tripped  away  home. 


66  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 


CHAPTER  VI 

IN  WHICH  BOBBY  SETS  OUT  ON  HIS  TBAVELS 

SQUIKE  LEE,  though  only  a  plain  farmer, 
was  the  richest  man  in  Riverdale.  He  had 
taken  a  great  fancy  to  Bobby,  and  often  em 
ployed  him  to  do  errands,  ride  the  horse  to 
plough  in  the  cornfields,  and  such  chores  about 
the  place  as  a  boy  could  do.  He  liked  to  talk 
with  Bobby  because  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  good  sense  in  him,  for  one  with  a  small 
head. 

If  there  was  any  one  thing  upon  which  the 
squire  particularly  prided  himself,  it  was  his 
knowledge  of  human  nature.  He  declared  that 
he  only  wanted  to  look  a  man  in  the  face  to 
know  what  he  was;  and  as  for  Bobby  Bright, 
he  had  summered  him  and  wintered  him,  and 
he  was  satisfied  that  he  would  make  something 
in  good  time 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      67 

He  was  not  much  astonished  when  Bobby 
opened  his  ambitious  scheme  of  going  into  busi 
ness  for  himself.  But  he  had  full  faith  in  his 
ability  to  work  out  a  useful  and  profitable,  if 
not  a  brilliant,  life.  He  often  said  that  Bobby 
was  worth  his  weight  in  gold,  and  that  he 
would  trust  him  with  anything  he  had.  Per 
haps  he  did  not  suspect  that  the  time  was  at 
hand  when  he  would  be  called  upon  to  verify 
his  words  practically;  for  it  was  only  that 
morning,  when  one  of  the  neighbors  told  him 
about  Bobby's  stopping  the  horse,  that  he 
had  repeated  the  expression  for  the  twentieth 
time. 

It  was  not  an  idle  remark.  Sixty  dollars  was 
hardly  worth  mentioning  with  a  man  of  his 
wealth  and  liberal  views,  though  so  careful  a 
man  as  he  was  would  not  have  been  likely  to 
throw  away  that  amount.  But  as  a  matter  of 
investment,  —  Bobby  had  made  the  note  read 
"with  interest,"  —  he  would  as  readily  have  let 
him  have  it,  as  the  next  richest  man  in  the 


68  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

place,  so  much  confidence  had  he  in  our  hero's 
integrity,  and  so  sure  was  he  that  he  would 
soon  have  the  means  of  paying  him. 

Bobby  was  overjoyed  at  the  fortunate  issue 
of  his  mission,  and  he  walked  into  the  room 
where  his  mother  was  closing  shoes,  with  a 
dignity  worthy  a  banker  or  a  great  merchant. 
Mrs.  Bright  was  very  sad.  Perhaps  she  felt  a 
little  grieved  that  her  son,  whom  she  loved  so 
much,  had  so  thoughtlessly  plunged  her  into  a 
new  difficulty. 

"  Come,  cheer  up,  mother ;  it  is  all  right," 
said  Bobby,  in  his  usual  elastic  and  gay  tones; 
and  at  the  same  time  he  took  the  sixty  dollars 
from  his  pocket  and  handed  it  to  her.  "  There 
is  the  money,  and  you  will  be  forever  quit  of 
Mr.  Hardhand  to-morrow." 

"What,  Bobby!  Why,  where  did  you  get  all 
this  money?"  asked  Mrs.  Bright,  utterly 
astonished. 

In  a  few  words  the  ambitious  boy  told  his 
story,  and  then  informed  his  mother  that  he 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BEIGHT      69 

was  going  to  Boston  the  next  Monday  morning, 
to  commence  business  for  himself. 

"  Why,  what  can  you  do,  Bobby  ?  " 

"  Do  ?  I  can  do  a  great  many  things ; "  and 
he  unfolded  his  scheme  of  becoming  a  little 
book  merchant. 

"You  are  a  courageous  fellow!  Who  would 
have  thought  of  such  a  thing?" 

"I  should,  and  did." 

"But  you  are  not  old  enough." 

"O,  yes,  I  am." 

"You  had  better  wait  a  while." 

"Now  or  never,  mother!  You  see  I  have 
given  my  note,  and  my  paper  will  be  dishonored, 
if  I  am  not  up  and  doing." 

"  Your  paper ! "  said  Mrs.  Bright,  with  a 
smile. 

"That  is  what  Mr.  Wing,  the  boot  manu 
facturer,  calls  it." 

"You  needn't  go  away  to  earn  this  money;  I 
can  pay  it  myself." 

"This  note  is   my  affair,  and  I  mean  to  pay 


70  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

it  myself  with  my  own  earnings.  No  objections, 
mother." 

Like  a  sensible  woman  as  she  was,  she 
did  not  make  any  objections.  She  was  con 
scious  of  Bobby's  talents;  she  knew  that  he 
had  a  strong  mind  of  *his  own,  and  could 
take  care  of  himself.  It  is  true,  she  feared 
the  influence  of  the  great  world,  and  espe 
cially  of  the  great  city,  upon  the  tender  mind 
of  her  son ;  but  if  he  was  never  tempted,  he 
would  never  be  a  conqueror  over  the  foes  that 
beset  him. 

She  determined  to  do  her  whole  duty  towards 
him;  and  she  carefully  pointed  out  to  him  the 
sins  and  the  moral  danger  to  which  he  would 
be  exposed,  and  warned  him  always  to  resist 
temptation.  She  counselled  him  to  think  of  her 
when  he  felt  like  going  astray. 

Bobby  declared  that  he  would  try  to  be  a 
good  boy.  He  did  not  speak  contemptuously 
of  the  anticipated  perils,  as  many  boys  would 
have  done,  because  he  knew  that  his  mother 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      71 

would  not  make  bug-bears  out  of  things  which 
she  knew  had  no  real  existence. 

The  next  day,  Mr.  Hardhand  came;  and  my 
young  readers  can  judge  how  astonished  and 
chagrined  he  was,  when  the  widow  Bright 
offered  him  the  sixty  dollars.  The  Lord  was 
with  the  widow  and  the  fatherless,  and  the 
wretch  was  cheated  out  of  his  revenge.  The 
note  was  given  up,  and  the  mortgage  cancelled. 

Mr.  Hardhand  insisted  that  she  should  pay 
the  interest  on  the  sixty  dollars  for  one  day, 
as  it  was  then  the  second  day  of  July;  but 
when  Bobby  reckoned  it  up,  and  found  it  was 
less  than  one  cent,  even  the  wretched  miser 
seemed  ashamed  of  himself,  and  changed  the 
subject  of  conversation. 

He  did  not  dare  to  say  anything  saucy  to 
the  widow  this  time.  He  had  lost  his  power 
over  her,  and  there  stood  Bobby,  who  had  come 
to  look  just  like  a  young  lion  to  him,  coward 
and  knave  as  he  was. 

The  business  was  all  settled  now,  and  Bobby 


72  NOW  OK  NEVER;   OR, 

spent  the  rest  of  the  week  in  getting  ready  for 
his  great  enterprise.  He  visited  all  his  friends, 
and  went  each  day  to  talk  with  Squire  Lee 
and  Annie.  The  little  maiden  promised  to  buy 
a  great  many  books  of  him,  if  he  would  bring 
his  stock  to  Riverdale,  for  she  was  quite  as 
much  interested  in  him  as  her  father  was. 

Monday  morning  came,  and  Bobby  was  out 
of  bed  with  the  first  streak  of  dawn.  The  ex 
citement  of  the  great  event  which  was  about  to 
happen  had  not  permitted  him  to  sleep  for  the 
two  hours  preceding;  yet  when  he  got  up,  he 
could  not  help  feeling  sad.  He  was  going  to 
leave  the  little  black  house,  going  to  leave  his 
mother,  going  to  leave  the  children,  to  depart 
for  the  great  city. 

His  mother  was  up  before  him.  She  was 
even  more  sad  than  he  was,  for  she  could  see 
plainer  than  he  the  perils  that  environed  him, 
and  her  maternal  heart,  in  spite  of  the  reason 
able  confidence  she  had  in  his  integrity  and 
good  principles,  trembled  for  his  safety. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      73 

As  he  ate  his  breakfast,  his  mother  repeated 
the  warnings  and  the  good  lessons  she  had 
before  imparted.  She  particularly  cautioned  him 
to  keep  out  of  bad  company.  If  he  found  that 
his  companions  would  lie  and  swear,  he  might 
depend  upon  it  they  would  steal,  and  he  had 
better  forsake  them  at  once.  This  was  excellent 
advice,  and  Bobby  had  occasion  at  a  later  period 
to  call  it  to  his  sorrowing  heart. 

"  Here  is  three  dollars,  Bobby ;  it  is  all  the 
money  I  have.  Your  fare  to  Boston  will  be  one 
dollar,  and  you  will  have  two  left  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  your  first  trip.  It  is  all  I  have 
now,"  said  Mrs.  Bright. 

"I  will  not  take  the  whole  of  it.  You  will 
want  it  yourself.  One  dollar  is  enough.  When 
I  find  Mr.  Bayard,  I  shall  do  very  well." 

"Yes,  Bobby,  take  the  whole  of  it." 

"I  will  take  just  one  dollar,  and  no  more," 
replied  Bobby,  resolutely,  as  he  handed  her  the 
other  two  dollars. 

"Do  take  it,  Bobby." 


74  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OB, 

"No,  mother;  it  will  only  make  me  lazy  and 
indifferent." 

Taking  a  clean  shirt,  a  pair  of  socks,  and  a 
handkerchief  in  his  bundle,  he  was  ready  for  a 
start. 

"Good  by,  mother,"  said  he,  kissing  her 
and  taking  her  hand.  "  I  shall  try  and  come 
home  on  Saturday,  so  as  to  be  with  you  on 
Sunday." 

Then  kissing  the  children,  who  had  not  yet 
got  up,  and  to  whom  he  had  bidden  adieu  the 
night  before,  he  left  the  house.  He  had  seen 
the  flood  of  tears  that  filled  his  mother's  eyes, 
as  he  crossed  the  threshold ;  and  he  could  not 
help  crying  a  little  himself.  It  is  a  sad  thing 
to  leave  one's  home,  one's  mother,  especially,  to 
go  out  into  the  great  world;  and  we  need  not 
wonder  that  Bobby,  who  had  hardly  been  out 
of  Riverdale  before,  should  weep.  But  he  soon 
restrained  the  flowing  tears. 

"Now  or  never  I"  said  he,  and  he  put  his 
best  foot  forward. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      75 

It  was  an  epoch  in  his  history,  and  though 
he  was  too  young  to  realize  the  importance  of 
the  event,  he  seemed  to  feel  that  what  he  did 
now  was  to  give  character  to  his  whole  future 
life. 

It  was  a  bright  and  beautiful  morning  —  some 
how  it  is  always  a  bright  and  beautiful  morning 
when  boys  leave  their  homes  to  commence  the 
journey  of  life;  it  is  typical  of  the  season  of 
youth  and  hope,  and  it  is  meet  that  the  sky 
should  be  clear,  and  the  sun  shine  brightly, 
when  the  little  pilgrim  sets  out  upon  his  tour. 
He  will  see  clouds  and  storms  before  he  has 
gone  far  —  let  him  have  a  fair  start. 

He  had  to  walk  five  miles  to  the  nearest  rail 
road  station.  His  road  lay  by  the  house  of  his 
friend,  Squire  Lee;  and  as  he  was  approaching 
it,  he  met  Annie.  She  said  she  had  come  out 
to  take  her  morning  walk;  but  Bobby  knew 
very  well  that  she  did  not  usually  walk  till  an 
hour  later;  which,  with  the  fact  that  she  had 
asked  him  particularly,  the  day  before,  what 


76  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

time  he  was  going,  made  Bobby  believe  that 
she  had  come  out  to  say  good  by,  and  bid 
him  God  speed  on  his  journey.  At  any  rate, 
he  was  very  glad  to  see  her.  He  said  a 
great  many  pretty  things  to  her,  and  talked 
so  big  about  what  he  was  going  to  do,  that 
the  little  maiden  could  hardly  help  laughing  in 
his  face. 

Then  at  the  house  he  shook  hands  with  the 
squire  and  shook  hands  again  with  Annie,  and 
resumed  his  journey.  His  heart  felt  lighter 
for  having  met  them,  or  at  least  for  having 
met  one  of  them,  if  not  both;  for  Annie's  eyes 
were  so  full  of  sunshine  that  they  seemed  to 
gladden  his  heart,  and  make  him  feel  truer  and 
stronger. 

After  a  pleasant  walk,  for  he  scarcely  heeded 
the  distance,  so  full  was  he  of  his  big  thoughts, 
he  reached  the  railroad  station.  The  cars  had 
not  yet  arrived,  and  would  not  for  half  an 
hour. 

"Why  should  I  give  them  a  dollar  for  carry- 


THE  ADVENTU11ES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      11 

ing  me  to  Boston,  when  I  can  just  as  well 
walk?  If  I  get  tired,  I  can  sit  down  and  rest 
me.  If  I  save  the  dollar,  I  shall  have  to  earn 
only  fifty-nine  more  to  pay  my  note.  So  here 
goes ; "  and  he  started  down  the  track. 


78  NOW  OS  NEVER;   OB, 


CHAPTER  VII 

IN   WHICH  BOBBY    STANDS  UP  FOR  "CERTAIN  IN 
ALIENABLE  RIGHTS" 

WHETHER  it  was  wise  policy,  or  "penny  wise 
and  pound  foolish"  policy  for  Bobby  to  under 
take  such  a  long  walk,  is  certainly  a  debatable 
question ;  but  as  my  young  readers  would  prob 
ably  object  to  an  argument,  we  will  follow  him 
to  the  city,  and  let  every  one  settle  the  point  to 
suit  himself. 

His  cheerful  heart  made  the  road  smooth  be 
neath  his  feet.  He  had  always  been  accustomed 
to  an  active,  busy  life,  and  had  probably  often 
walked  more  than  twenty  miles  in  a  day.  About 
ten  o'clock,  though  he  did  not  feel  much  fa 
tigued,  he  seated  himself  on  a  rock  by  a  brook 
from  which  he  had  just  taken  a  drink,  to  rest 
himself.  He  had  walked  slowly  so  as  to  hus 
band  his  strength;  and  he  felt  confident  that 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      79 

he  should  be  able  to  accomplish  the  journey 
without  injury  to  himself. 

After  resting  for  half  an  hour,  he  resumed 
his  walk.  At  twelve  o'clock  he  reached  a  point 
from  which  he  obtained  his  first  view  of  the 
city.  His  heart  bounded  at  the  sight,  and  his 
first  impulse  was  to  increase  his  speed  so  that 
he  should  the  sooner  gratify  his  curiosity;  but 
a  second  thought  reminded  him  that  he  had 
eaten  nothing  since  breakfast;  so,  finding  a 
shady  tree  by  the  road  side,  he  seated  himself 
on  a  stone  to  eat  the  luncheon  which  his  con 
siderate  mother  had  placed  in  his  bundle. 

Thus  refreshed,  he  felt  like  a  new  man,  and 
continued  his  journey  again  till  he  was  on  the 
very  outskirts  of  the  city,  where  a  sign,  "No 
passing  over  this  bridge,"  interrupted  his  farther 
progress.  Unlike  many  others,  Bobby  took  this 
sign  literally,  and  did  not  venture  to  cross  the 
bridge.  Having  some  doubts  as  to  the  direct 
road  to  the  city,  he  hailed  a  man  in  a  butcher's 
cart,  who  not  only  pointed  the  way,  but  gave 


80  NOW  On   NEVER;   OB, 

him  an  invitation  to  ride  with  him,  which  Bobby 
was  glad  to  accept. 

They  crossed  the  Milldam,  and  the  little  pil 
grim  forgot  the  long  walk  he  had  taken  — 
forgot  Riverdale,  his  mother,  Squire  Lee,  and 
Annie,  for  the  time,  in  the  absorbing  interest 
of  the  exciting  scene.  The  Common  beat  River- 
dale  Common  all  hollow;  he  had  never  seen 
anything  like  it  before.  But  when  the  wagon 
reached  Washington  Street,  the  measure  of  his 
surprise  was  filled  up. 

"  My  gracious  !  how  thick  the  houses  are  ! " 
exclaimed  he,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the 
kind-hearted  butcher. 

"  We  have  high  fences  here,"  he  replied. 

"  Where  are  all  these  folks  going  to  ? " 

"You  will  have  to  ask  them,  if  you  want  to 
know." 

But  the  wonder  soon  abated,  and  Bobby  began 
to  think  of  his  great  mission  in  the  city.  He 
got  tired  of  gazing  and  wondering,  and  even 
began  to  smile  with  contempt  at  the  silly  fops 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      81 

as  they  sauntered  along,  and  the  gayly  dressed 
ladies,  that  flaunted  like  so  many  idle  butter 
flies,  on  the  sidewalk.  It  was  an  exciting 
scene;  but  it  did  not  look  real  to  him.  It  was 
more  like  Herr  Grunderslung's  exhibition  of  the 
magic  lantern,  than  anything  substantial.  The 
men  and  women  were  like  so  many  puppets. 
They  did  not  seem  to  be  doing  anything,  or 
to  be  walking  for  any  purpose. 

He  got  out  of  the  butcher's  cart  at  the  Old 
South.  His  first  impression,  as  he  joined  the 
busy  throng,  was,  that  he  was  one  of  the  pup 
pets.  He  did  not  seem  to  have  any  hold  upon 
the  scene,  and  for  several  minutes  this  sensation 
of  vacancy  chained  him  to  the  spot. 

"  All  right ! "  exclaimed  he  to  himself  at  last. 
"I  am  here.  Now's  my  time  to  make  a  strike. 
Now  or  never." 

He  pulled  Mr.  Bayard's  card  from  his  pocket, 
and  fixed  the  number  of  his  store  in  his  mind. 
Now,  numbers  were  not  a  Riverdale  institution, 
and  Bobby  was  a  little  perplexed  about  finding 


82  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

the  one  indicated.  A  little  study  into  the  mat 
ter,  however,  set  him  right,  and  he  soon  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  the  bookseller's  name  over 
his  store. 

"  F.  Bayard,"  he  read ;  "  this  is  the  place." 

"Country!"  shouted  a  little  ragged  boy,  who 
dodged  across  the  street  at  that  moment. 

"Just  so,  my  beauty!"  said  Bobby,  a  little 
nettled  at  this  imputation  of  verdancy. 

"  What  a  greeny ! "  shouted  the  little  vaga 
bond  from  the  other  side  of  the  street. 

"  No  matter,  rag-tag !  We'll  settle  that  mat 
ter  some  other  time." 

But  Bobby  felt  that  there  was  something  in 
his  appearance  which  subjected  him  to  the 
remarks  of  others,  and  as  he  entered  the  shop, 
he  determined  to  correct  it  as  soon  as  possible. 

A  spruce  young  gentleman  was  behind  the 
counter,  who  cast  a  mischievous  glance  at  him 
as  he  entered. 

"  Mr.  Bayard  keep  here  ?  "  asked  Bobby. 

"Well,  I   reckon   he   does.     How  are  all   the 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      83 

folks  up  country?"  replied  the  spruce  clerk, 
with  a  rude  grin. 

"  How  are  they  ? "  repeated  Bobby,  the  color 
flying  to  his  cheek. 

"Yes,  ha-ow  do  they  dew?" 

"They  behave  themselves  better  than  they  do 
here." 

"Eh,  greeny?" 

"  Eh,  sappy  ?  "  repeated  Bobby,  mimicking  the 
soft,  silky  tones  of  the  young  city  gentleman. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  sappy  ? "  asked  the 
clerk  indignantly. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  greeny  ?  " 

"  I'll  let  you  know  what  I  mean  ! " 

"When  you  do,  I'll  let  you  know  what  I 
mean  by  sappy." 

"  Good ! "  exclaimed  one  of  the  salesmen, 
who  had  heard  part  of  this  spirited  conver 
sation.  "You  will  learn  better  by  and  by, 
Timmins,  than  to  impose  upon  boys  from  out 
of  town." 

"  You    seem    to    be    a    gentleman,    sir,"    said 


84  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Bobby,  approaching  the  salesman.  "I  wish  to 
see  Mr.  Bayard." 

"  You  can't  see  him ! "  growled  Timmins. 

"Can't  I?" 

"  Not  at  this  minute ;  he  is  engaged  just 
now,"  added  the  salesman,  who  seemed  to  have 
a  profound  respect  for  Bobby's  discrimination. 
"  He  will  be  at  liberty  in  a  few  moments." 

"I  will  wait,  then,"  said  Bobby,  seating  him 
self  on  a  stool  by  the  counter. 

Pretty  soon  the  civil  gentleman  left  the  store 
to  go  to  dinner,  and  Timmins,  a  little  timid 
about  provoking  the  young  lion,  cast  an  occa 
sional  glance  of  hatred  at  him.  He  had  evi 
dently  found  that  "Country"  was  an  embryo 
American  citizen,  and  that  he  was  a  firm  be 
liever  in  the  self-evident  truths  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence. 

Bobby  bore  no  ill  will  towards  the  spruce 
clerk,  ready  as  he  had  been  to  defend  his 
"certain  inalienable  rights." 

"You    do    a    big    business    here,"    suggested 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      85 

Bobby,  in  a  conciliatory  tone,  and  with  a  smile 
on  his  face  which  ought  to  have  convinced  the 
uncourteous  clerk  that  he  meant  well. 

"Who  told  you  so?"  replied  Timmins, 
gruffly. 

"I  merely  judged  from  appearances.  You 
have  a  big  store,  and  an  immense  quantity  of 
books." 

"Appearances  are  deceitful,"  replied  Tim 
mins;  and  perhaps  he  had  been  impressed  by 
the  fact  from  his  experience  with  the  lad  from 
the  country. 

"That  is  true,"  added  Bobby,  with  a  good- 
natured  smile,  which,  when  interpreted,  might 
have  meant,  "  I  took  you  for  a  civil  fellow,  but 
I  have  been  very  much  mistaken." 

"You  will  find  it  out  before  you  are  many 
days  older." 

"The  book  business  is  good  just  now,  isn't 
it?"  continued  Bobby,  without  clearly  compre 
hending  the  meaning  of  the  other's  last  remark. 

"Humph!     What's  that  to  you?" 


86  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"O,  I  intend  to  go  into  it  myself." 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha  I     Good !     You  do  ?  " 

"I  do,"  replied  Bobby,  seemingly  unconcerned 
at  the  taunts  of  the  clerk. 

"I  suppose  you  want  to  get  a  place  here," 
sneered  Timmins,  alarmed  at  the  prospect. 
"But  let  me  tell  you,  you  can't  do  it.  Bayard 
has  all  the  help  he  wants;  and  if  that  is  what 
you  come  for,  you  can  move  on  as  fast  as  you 
please." 

"I  guess  I  will  see  him,"  added  Bobby, 
quietly. 

"No  use." 

"No  harm  in  seeing  him." 

As  he  spoke  he  took  up  a  book  that  lay 
on  the  counter,  and  began  to  turn  over  the 
leaves. 

"Put  that  book  down!"  said  the  amiable  Mr. 
Timmins. 

"I  won't  hurt  it,"  replied  Bobby,  who  had 
just  fixed  his  eye  upon  some  very  pretty 
engravings  in  the  volume. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      87 

"  Put  it  down ! "  repeated  Mr.  Timmins,  in 
a  loud,  imperative  tone. 

"Certainly  I  will,  if  you  say  so,"  said  Bobby, 
who,  though  not  much  intimidated  by  the  harsh 
tones  of  the  clerk,  did  not  know  the  rules  of 
the  store,  and  deemed  it  prudent  not  to  meddle. 

"  I  do  say  so ! "  added  Mr.  Timmins,  magnifi 
cently;  "and  what's  more,  you'd  better  mind 
me,  too." 

Bobby  had  minded,  and  probably  the  stately 
little  clerk  would  not  have  been  so  bold  if  he 
had  not.  Some  people  like  to  threaten  after 
the  danger  is  over. 

Then  our  visitor  from  the  country  espied 
some  little  blank  books  lying  on  the  counter. 
He  had  already  made  up  his  mind  to  have  one, 
in  which  to  keep  his  accounts;  and  he  thought, 
while  he  was  waiting,  that  he  would  purchase 
one.  He  meant  to  do  things  methodically;  so 
when  he  picked  up  one  of  the  blank  books,  it 
was  with  the  intention  of  buying  it. 

"Put  that    book  down!"   said    Mr.  Timmins, 


88  .VOIK   OB   NKVI-lli;    OR, 

encouraged  in  his  aggressive  intentions  by  the 
previous  docility  of  our  hero. 

"I  want  to  buy  one." 

"  No,  you  don't ;  put  it  down." 

"What  is  the  price  of  these?"  asked  Bobby, 
resolutely. 

"  None  of  your  business  ! " 

"Is  that  the  way  you  treat  your  customers?" 
asked  Bobby,  with  a  little  sternness  in'  his  looks 
and  tones.  "I  say  I  want  to  buy  one." 

"Put  it  down." 

"But  I  will  not;  I  say  I  want  to  buy  it." 

"  No,  you  don't ! " 

"What  is  the  price  of  it?" 

"Twenty-five  cents,"  growled  Timmins,  which 
was  just  four  times  the  retail  price. 

"Twenty-five  cents!     That's  high." 

"Put  it  down,  then." 

"Is  that  your  lowest  price?"  asked  Bobby, 
who  was  as  cool  as  a  cucumber. 

"  Yes,  it  is ;  and  if  you  don't  put  it  down, 
I'll  kick  you  out  of  the  store." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      89 

"Will  you?    Then  I  won't  put  it  down." 

Mr.  Timmins  took  this  as  a  "stump;"  his  ire 
was  up,  and  he  walked  round  from  behind  the 
counter  to  execute  his  threat. 

I  must  say  I  think  Bobby  was  a  little  for 
ward,  and  I  would  have  my  young  readers  a 
little  more  pliant  with  small  men  like  Timmins. 
There  are  always  men  enough  in  the  world  who 
are  ready  and  willing  to  quarrel  on  any  provo 
cation;  and  it  is  always  best  not  to  provoke 
them,  even  if  they  are  overbearing  and  insolent, 
as  Mr.  Timmins  certainly  was. 

"Hold  on  a  minute  before  you  do  it,"  said 
Bobby,  with  the  same  provoking  coolness.  "I 
want  to  buy  this  book,  and  I  am  willing  to  pay 
a  fair  price  for  it.  But  I  happen  to  know  that 
you  can  buy  them  up  in  Riverdale,  where  I 
came  from,  for  six  cents." 

"No  matter,"  exclaimed  the  indignant  clerk, 
seizing  Bobby  by  the  coat  collar  for  the  pur 
pose  of  ejecting  him;  "you  shall  find  your  way 
into  the  street." 


90  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OB, 

Now  B'obby,  as  I  have  before  intimated,  was 
an  embryo  American  citizen,  and  the  act  of 
Mr.  Timmins  seemed  like  an  invasion  of  his 
inalienable  rights.  No  time  was  given  him  to 
make  a  formal  declaration  of  rights  in  the 
premises ;  so  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  was 
allowed  to  have  free  course. 

Mr.  Timmins  pulled  and  tugged  at  his  coat 
collar,  and  Bobby  hung  back  like  a  mule ;  and 
for  an  instant  there  was  quite  a  spirited  scene. 

"  Hallo !  Timmins,  what  does  this  mean  ? " 
said  a  voice,  at  which  the  valiant  little  clerk 
instantly  let  go  his  hold. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      91 


CHAPTER  VIH 

IN    WHICH    MR.     TIMMINS     IS     ASTONISHED,    AND 
BOBBY  DINES   IN  CHESTNUT  STKEET 

IT  was  Mr.  Bayard.  He  had  finished  his 
business  with  the  gentleman  by  his  side,  and 
hearing  the  noise  of  the  scuffle,  had  come  to 
learn  the  occasion  of  it. 

"  This  impudent  young  puppy  wouldn't  let  the 
books  alone ! "  began  Mr.  Timmins.  "  I  threat 
ened  to  turn  him  out  if  he  didn't;  and  I  meant 
to  make  good  my  threat.  I  think  he  meant  to 
steal  something." 

Bobby  was  astonished  and  shocked  at  this 
bold  imputation;  but  he  wished  to  have  his  case 
judged  on  its  own  merits ;  so  he  turned  his  face 
away,  that  Mr.  Bayard  might  not  recognize  him. 

"I  wanted  to  buy  one  of  these  blank  books," 
added  Bobby,  picking  up  the  one  he  had  dropped 
on  the  floor  in  the  struggle. 


92  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OB, 

"  All  stuff !  "  ejaculated  Timmins.  "  He  is  an 
impudent,  obstinate  puppy  !  In  my  opinion  he 
meant  to  steal  that  book." 

"  I  asked  him  the  price,  and  told  him  I 
wanted  to  buy  it,"  added  Bobby,  still  averting 
his  face. . 

"Well,  I  told  him;  and  he  said  it  was  too 
high." 

"He  asked  me  twenty-five  cents  for  it." 

"Is  this  true,  Timmins?"  asked  Mr.  Bayard, 
sternly. 

"No,  sir!  I  told  him  fourpence,"  replied 
Timmins,  boldly. 

"  By  gracious !  What  a  whopper ! "  exclaimed 
Bobby,  startled  out  of  his  propriety  by  this 
monstrous  lie.  "  He  said  twenty-five  cents ;  and 
I  told  him  I  could  buy  one  up  in  Riverdale, 
where  I  came  from,  for  six  cents.  Can  you 
deny  that?" 

"  It's  a  lie  !  "  protested  Timmins. 

"  Riverdale,"  said  Mr.  Bayard.  "  Are  you 
from  Riverdale,  boy?" 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      93 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  am ;  and  if  you  will  look  on  your 
memorandum  book  you  will  find  my  name  there." 

"  Bless  me !  I  am  sure  I  have  seen  that  face 
before,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bayard,  as  he  grasped 
the  hand  of  Bobby,  much  to  the  astonishment 
and  consternation  of  Mr.  Timmins.  "  You 
are " 

"Robert  Bright,  sir." 

"My  brave  little  fellow!  I  am  heartily 
glad  to  see  you ; "  and  the  bookseller  shook 
the  hand  he  held  with  hearty  good  will.  "  I 
was  thinking  of  you  only  a  little  while  ago." 

"  This  fellow  calls  me  a  liar,"  said  Bobby, 
pointing  to  the  astonished  Mr.  Timmins,  who 
did  not  know  what  to  make  of  the  cordial 
reception  which  "  Country "  was  receiving  from 
his  employer. 

"  Well,  Robert,  we  know  that  Tie  is  a  liar ; 
this  is  not  the  first  time  he  has  been  caught  in 
a  lie.  Timmins,  your  time  is  out." 

The  spruce  clerk  hung  his  head  with  shame 
and  mortification. 


94  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"I  hope,  sir,  you  will "  he  began,  but  pride 

or  fear  stopped  him  short. 

"Don't  be  hard  with  him,  sir,  if  you  please," 
said  Bobby.  "I  suppose  I  aggravated  him." 

Mr.  Bayard  looked  at  the  gentleman  who 
stood  by  his  side,  and  a  smile  of  approbation 
lighted  up  his  face. 

"Generous  as  he  is  noble!  Butler,  this  is 
the  boy  that  saved  Ellen." 

"Indeed!  He  is  a  little  giant!"  replied  Mr. 
Butler,  grasping  Bobby's  hand. 

Even  Timmins  glanced  with  something  like 
admiration  in  his  looks  at  the  youth  whom  he 
had  so  lately  despised.  Perhaps,  too,  he 
thought  of  that  Scripture  wisdom  about  enter 
taining  angels  unawares.  He  was  very  much 
abashed,  arid  nothing  but  his  silly  pride  pre 
vented  him  from  acknowledging  his  error  and 
begging  Bobby's  forgiveness. 

"I  can't  have  a  liar  about  me,"  said  Mr. 
Bayard. 

"There  may  be  some  mistake,"  suggested  Mr. 
Butler. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      95 

"I  think  not.  Robert  Bright  couldn't  lie. 
So  brave  and  noble  a  boy  is  incapable  of  a 
falsehood.  Besides,  I  got  a  letter  from  my 
friend  Squire  Lee  by  this  morning's  mail,  in 
which  he  informed  me  of  my  young  friend's 
coming." 

Mr.  Bayard  took  from  his  pocket  a  bundle  of 
letters,  and  selected  the  squire's  from  among 
them.  Opening  it,  he  read  a  passage  which 
had  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  case  before 
him. 

"'I  do  not  know  what  Bobby's  faults  are,'" 
—  the  letter  said,  —  "  '  but  this  I  do  know :  that 
Bobby  would  rather  be  whipped  than  tell  a  lie. 
He  is  noted  through  the  place  for  his  love  of 
truth.'  —  That  is  pretty  strong  testimony;  and 
you  see,  Bobby,  —  that's  what  the  squire  calls 
you,  —  your  reputation  has  preceded  you." 

Bobby  blushed,  as  he  always  did  when  he 
was  praised,  and  Mr.  Timmins  was  more  abashed 
than  ever. 

"Bid  you  hear  that,  Timmins?    Who  is  the 


96  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

liar  now?"  said  Mr.  Bayard,  turning  to  the 
culprit. 

"Forgive  me,  sir,  this  time.  If  you  turn  me 
off  now,  I  cannot  get  another  place,  and  my 
mother  depends  upon  my  wages." 

"You  ought  to  have  thought  of  this  before." 

"He  aggravated  me,  sir,  so  that  I  wanted  to 
pay  him  off." 

"  As  to  that,  he  commenced  upon  me  the 
moment  I  came  into  the  store.  But  don't  turn 
him  off,  if  you  please,  sir,"  said  Bobby,  who 
even  now  wished  no  harm  to  his  discomfited 
assailant.  "  He  will  do  better  hereafter  :  won't 
you,  Timmins  ?  " 

Thus  appealed  to,  Timmins,  though  he  did 
not  relish  so  direct  an  inquiry,  and  from  such 
a  source,  was  compelled  to  reply  in  the  affirma 
tive  ;  and  Mr.  Bayard  graciously  remitted  the  sen 
tence  he  had  passed  against  the  offending  clerk. 

"Now,  Robert,  you  will  come  over  to  my 
house  and  dine  with  me.  Ellen  will  be  de 
lighted  to  see  you." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      97 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  replied  Bobby,  bashfully, 
"  I  have  been  to  dinner "  —  referring  to  the 
luncheon  he  had  eaten  at  Brighton. 

"But  you  must  go  to  the  house  with  me." 

"I  should  be  very  glad  to  do  so,  sir,  but  I 
came  on  business.  I  will  stay  here  with  Mr. 
Timmins  till  you  come  back." 

The  truth  is,  he  had  heard  something  about 
the  fine  houses  of  the  city,  and  how  stylish  the 
people  were,  and  he  had  some  misgivings  about 
venturing  into  such  a  strange  and  untried  scene 
as  the  parlor  of  a  Boston  merchant. 

"Indeed,  you  must  come  with  me.  Ellen 
would  never  forgive  you  or  me,  if  you  did  not 
come." 

"  I  would  rather  rest  here  till  you  return," 
replied  Bobby,  still  willing  to  escape  the  fine 
house  and  the  fine  folks.  "I  walked  from 
Riverdale,  sir,  and  I  am  rather  tired." 

"Walked!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bayard.  "Had 
you  no  money  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,   enough    to    pay   my  passage ;    but 


98  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

Dr.  Franklin  says  that  'a  penny  saved  is  a 
penny  earned,'  and  I  thought  I  would  try  it. 
I  shall  get  rested  by  the  time  you  return." 

"But  you  must  go  with  me.  Timmins,  go 
and  get  a  carriage." 

Timmins  obeyed,  and  before  Mr.  Bayard  had 
finished  asking  Bobby  how  all  the  people  in 
Riverdale  were,  the  carriage  was  at  the  door. 

There  was  no  backing  out  now,  and  our 
hero  was  obliged  to  get  into  the  vehicle, 
though  it  seemed  altogether  too  fine  for  a  poor 
boy  like  him.  Mr.  Bayard  and  Mr.  Butler 
(whom  the  former  had  invited  to  dine  with 
him)  seated  themselves  beside  him,  and  the 
driver  was  directed  to  set  them  down  at  No. — , 
Chestnut  Street,  where  they  soon  arrived. 

Though  my  readers  would,  no  doubt,  be  very 
much  amused  to  learn  how  carefully  Bobby 
trod  the  velvet  carpets,  how  he  stared  with 
wonder  at  the  drapery  curtains,  at  the  tall  mir 
rors,  the  elegant  chandeliers,  and  the  fantasti 
cally  shaped  chairs  and  tables  that  adorned  Mr. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      99 

Bayard's  parlor,  the  length  of  our  story  does 
not  permit  us  to  pause  over  these  trivial 
matters. 

When  Ellen  Bayard  was  informed  that  her  little 
deliverer  was  in  the  house,  she  rushed  into  the 
parlor  like  a  hoiden  school  girl,  grasped  both  his 
hands,  kissed  both  his  rosy  cheeks,  and  behaved 
just  as  though  she  had  never  been  to  a  board 
ing  school  in  her  life. 

She  had  thought  a  great  deal  about  Bobby 
since  that  eventful  day,  and  the  more  she  thought 
of  him,  the  more  she  liked  him.  Her  admira 
tion  of  him  was  not  of  that  silly,  sentimental 
character  which  moonstruck  young  ladies  cherish 
towards  those  immaculate  young  men  who  have 
saved  them  from  drowning  in  a  horse  pond, 
pulled  them  back  just  as  they  were  tumbling 
over  a  precipice  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet 
high,  or  rescued  them  from  a  house  seven  stories 
high,  bearing  them  down  a  ladder  seventy- 
five  odd  feet  long.  The  fact  was,  Bobby  was 
a  boy  of  thirteen  and  there  was  no  chance  for 


100  NOW  OB  NJ-:VKli;   OP, 

much  sentiment;  so  the  young  lady's  regard 
was  real,  earnest,  and  lifelike. 

Ellen  said  a  great  many  very  handsome 
things;  but  I  am  sure  she  never  thought  of 
such  a  thing  as  that  he  would  run  away  with 
her,  in  case  her  papa  was  unnecessarily  obstinate. 
She  was  very  glad  to  see  him,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  she  wished  Bobby  rnighf;  be  her  brother, 
it  would  be  so  glorious  to  have  such  a  noble 
little  fellow  always  with  her. 

Bobby  managed  the  dinner  much  better  than 
he  had  anticipated;  for  Mr.  Bayard  insisted  that 
he  should  sit  down  with  them,  whether  he  ate 
anything  or  not.  But  the  Rubicon  passed,  our 
hero  found  that  he  had  a  pretty  smart  appetite, 
and  did  full  justice  to  the  viands  set  before  him. 
It  is  true  the  silver  forks,  the  napkins,  the 
ringer  bowls,  and  other  articles  of  luxury  and 
show,  to  which  he  had  been  entirely  unaccus 
tomed,  bothered  him  not  a  little;  but  he  kept 
perfectly  cool,  and  carefully  observed  how  Mr. 
Butler,  who  sat  next  to  him,  handled  the  "  spoon 


TUE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRlGIIT      101 

fork,"  what  he  did  with  the  napkin  and  the  fin 
ger  bowl,  so  that,  I  will  venture  to  say,  not 
one  in  ten  would  have  suspected  he  had  not 
spent  his  life  in  the  parlor  of  a  millionaire. 

Dinner  over,  the  party  returned  to  the  parlor, 
where  Bobby  unfolded  his  plan  for  the  future. 
To  make  his  story  intelligible,  he  was  obliged  to 
tell  them  all  about  Mr.  Hardhand. 

"The  old  wretch!  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Bayard. 
"But,  Robert,  you  must  let  me  advance  the 
sixty  dollars,  to  pay  Squire  Lee." 

"No,  sir;  you  have  done  enough  in  that  way. 
I  have  given  my  note  for  the  money." 

"Whew!"  said  Mr.  Butler. 

"And  I  shall  soon  earn  enough  to  pay  it." 

"No  doubt  of  it.  You  are  a  lad  of  courage 
and  energy,  and  you  will  succeed  in  everything 
you  undertake." 

"I  shall  want  you  to  trust  me  for  a  stock  of 
books,  on  the  strength  of  old  acquaintance,"  con 
tinued  Bobby,  who  had  now  grown  quite  bold, 
and  felt  as  much  at  home  in  the  midst  of  the 


102  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

costly  furniture,  as  he  did  in  the  "  living  room " 
of  the  old  black  house. 

"You  shall  have  all  the  books  you  want." 

"I  will  pay  for  them  as  soon  as  I  return. 
The  truth  is,  Mr.  Bayard,  I  mean  to  be  inde 
pendent.  I  didn't  want  to  take  that  thirty-five 
dollars,  though  I  don't  know  what  Mr.  Hard- 
hand  would  have  done  to  us,  if  I  hadn't." 

"  Ellen  said  I  ought  to  have  given  you  a  hun 
dred,  and  I  think  so  myself." 

"I  am  glad  you  didn't.  Too  much  money 
makes  us  fat  and  lazy." 

Mr.  Bayard  laughed  at  the  easy  self-posses 
sion  of  the  lad  —  at  his  big  talk ;  though,  big 
as  it  was,  it  meant  something.  When  he  pro 
posed  to  go  to  the  store,  he  told  Bobby  he  had 
better  stay  at  the  house  and  rest  himself. 

"No,  sir;  I  want  to  start  out  to-morrow,  and 
I  must  get  ready  to-day." 

"  You  had  better  put  it  off  till  the  next  day ; 
you  will  feel  more  like  it  then." 

"Now  or  never,"   replied   Bobby.      "That  is 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      103 

my  motto,  sir.  If  we  have  anything  to  do,  now 
is  always  the  best  time  to  do  it.  Dr.  Franklin 
says,  *  Never  put  off  till  to-morrow  what  you  can 
do  to-day.'" 

"Right,  Robert!  you  shall  have  your  own 
way.  I  wish  my  clerks  would  adopt  some  of 
Dr.  Franklin's  wise  saws.  I  should  be  a  great 
deal  better  off  in  the  course  of  a  year  if  they 
would." 


104  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 


CHAPTER  IX 

IN  WHICH  BOBBY  OPENS  VARIOUS   ACCOUNTS,  AND 
WINS  HIS   FIRST   VICTORY 

"  Now,  Bobby,  I  understand  your  plan," 
said  Mr.  Bayard,  when  they  reached  the  store; 
"but  the  details  must  be  settled.  Where  do 
you  intend  to  go?" 

"  I  hardly  know,  sir.  I  suppose  I  can  sell 
books  almost  anywhere." 

"  Very  true ;  but  in  some  places  much  better 
than  in  others." 

Mr.  Bayard  mentioned  a  large  town  about 
eighteen  miles  from  the  city,  in  which  he 
thought  a  good  trade  might  be  carried  on, 
and  Bobby  at  once  decided  to  adopt  the 
suggestion. 

"You  can  make  this  place  your  headquarters 
for  the  week ;  if  books  do  not  sell  well  right 
in  the  village,  why,  you  can  go  out  a  little 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      105 

way,  for  the  country  in  the  vicinity  is  peopled 
by  intelligent  farmers,  who  are  well  off,  and 
who  can  afford  to  buy  books." 

"  I  was  thinking  of  that ;  but  what  shall  I 
take  with  me,  sir?" 

"There  is  a  new  book  just  published,  called 
'The  Wayfarer,'  which  is  going  to  have  a 
tremendous  run.  It  has  been  advertised  in 
advance  all  over  the  country,  so  that  you  will 
find  a  ready  sale  for  it.  You  will  get  it  there 
before  any  one  else,  and  have  the  market  all 
to  yourself." 

"  '  The  Wayfarer '  ?    I  have  heard  of  it  myself." 

"  You  shall  take  fifty  copies  with  you,  and 
if  you  find  that  you  shall  want  more,  write, 
and  I  will  send  them." 

"But  I  cannot  carry  fifty  copies." 

"  You  must  take  the  cars  to  B ,  and  have 

a  trunk  or  box  to  carry  your  books  in.  I  have 
a  stout  trunk  down  cellar  which  you  shall 
have." 

"I  will  pay  for  it,  sir." 


106  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"  Never  mind  that,  Bobby ;  and  you  will  want 
a  small  valise  or  carpet  bag  to  carry  your  books 
from  house  to  house.  I  will  lend  you  one." 

"You  are  very  kind,  sir;  I  did  not  mean  to 
ask  any  favors  of  you  except  to  trust  me  for 
the  books  until  my  return." 

"All  right,  Bobby." 

Mr.  Bayard  called  the  porter  and  ordered  him 
to  bring  up  the  trunk,  in  which  he  directed 
Mr.  Timmins  to  pack  fifty  "  Wayfarers." 

"Now,  how  much  will  these  books  cost  me 
apiece?"  asked  Bobby. 

"  The  retail  price  is  one  dollar ;  the  whole 
sale  price  is  one  third  off;  and  you  shall  have 
them  at  what  they  cost  me." 

"Sixty-seven  cents,"  added  Bobby.  "That 
will  give  me  a  profit  of  thirty-three  cents  on 
each  book." 

"Just  so." 

"Perhaps  Mr.  Timmins  will  sell  me  one  of 
those  blank  books  now ;  for  I  like  to  have 
things  down  in  black  and  white." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      107 

"I  will  furnish  you  with  something  much 
better  than  that;"  and  Mr.  Bayard  left  the 
counting  room. 

In  a  moment  he  returned  with  a  handsome 
pocket  memorandum  book,  which  he  presented 
to  the  little  merchant. 

"But  I  don't  like  to  take  it  unless  you  will 
let  me  pay  for  it,"  said  Bobby,  hesitating. 

"Never  mind  it,  my  young  friend.  Now 
you  can  sit  down  at  my  desk  and  open  your 
accounts.  I  like  to  see  boys  methodical,  and 
there  is  nothing  like  keeping  accounts  to  make 
one  accurate.  Keep  your  books  posted  up,  and 
you  will  know  where  you  are  at  any  time." 

"I  intend  to  keep  an  account  of  all  I  spend 
and  all  I  receive,  if  it  is  no  more  than  a  cent." 

"Right,  my  little  man.  Have  you  ever 
studied  book-keeping  ?  " 

"No,  sir,  I  suppose  I  haven't;  but  there  was 
a  page  of  accounts  in  the  back  part  of  the 
arithmetic  I  studied,  and  I  got  a  pretty  good 
idea  of  the  thing  from  that.  All  the  money 


108  NOW  OR   XEVEll;   OB, 

received  goes  on  one  side,  and  all  the  money 
paid  out  goes  on  the  other." 

"  Exactly  so ;  in  this  book  you  had  better 
open  a  book  account  first.  If  you  wish,  I  will 
show  you  how." 

"  Thank  you,  sir ;  I  should  be  very  glad  to 
have  you ; "  and  Bobby  opened  the  memoran 
dum  book,  and  seated  himself  at  the  desk. 

"  Write  '  Book  Account,'  at  the  top  of  the 
pages,  one  word  on  each.  Very  well.  Now 
write  *  To  fifty  copies  of  "  Wayfarer,"  at  sixty- 
seven  cents,  $33.50,'  on  the  left-hand  page,  or 
debit  side  of  the  account." 

"I  am  not  much  of  a  writer,"  said  Bobby, 
apologetically. 

"You  will  improve.  Now,  each  day  you  will 
credit  the  amount  of  sales  on  the  right  hand 
page,  or  credit  side  of  the  account;  so,  when 
you  have  sold  out,  the  balance  due  your  debit 
side  will  be  the  profit  on  the  lot.  Do  you 
understand  it?" 

Bobby  thought  a  moment  before  he  could  see 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      109 

through  it;  but  his  brain  was  active,  and  he 
soon  managed  the  idea. 

"Now  you  want  a  personal  account;"  and 
Mr.  Bayard  explained  to  him  how  to  make  this 
out. 

He  then  instructed  him  to  enter  on  the  debit 
side  all  he  spent  for  travel,  board,  freight,  and 
other  charges.  The  next'  was  the  "profit  and 
loss"  account,  which  was  to  show  him  the  net 
profit  of  the  business. 

Our  hero,  who  had  a  decided  taste  for  ac 
counts,  was  very  much  pleased  with  this  em 
ployment;  and  when  the  accounts  were  all 
opened,  he  regarded  them  with  a  great  deal  of 
satisfaction.  He  longed  to  commence  his  opera 
tions,  if  it  were  only  for  the  pleasure  of 
making  the  entries  in  this  book. 

"One  thing  I  forgot,"  said  he,  as  he  seized 
the  pen,  and  under  the  cash  account  entered, 
"To  Cash  from  mother,  11.00."  "Now  I  am 
all  right,  I  believe." 

"I   think  you  are.     Now,   the   cars  leave   at 


110  NOW  OB  NEVER;   OB, 

seven  in  the  morning-  Can  you  be  ready  for 
a  start  as  early  as  that?"  asked  Mr.  Bayard. 

"O,  yes,  sir,  I  hope  so.  I  get  up  at  half 
past  four  at  home." 

"Very  well;  my  small  valise  is  at  the  house; 
but  I  believe  everything  else  is  ready.  Now, 
I  have  some '  business  to  attend  to ;  and  if  you 
will  amuse  yourself  for  an  hour  or  two,  we 
will  go  home  then." 

"I  shall  want  a  lodging  place  when  I  am 
in  the  city;  perhaps  some  of  your  folks  can 
direct  me  to  one  where  they  won't  charge  too 
much." 

"As  to  that,  Bobby,  you  must  go  to  my 
house  whenever  you  are  in  the  city." 

"  Law,  sir !  you  live  so  grand,  I  couldn't  think 
of  going  to  your  house.  I  am  only  a  poor  boy 
from  the  country,  and  I  don't  know  how  to 
behave  myself  among  such  nice  folks." 

"You  will  do  very  well,  Bobby.  Ellen  would 
never  forgive  me  if  I  let  you  go  anywhere  else. 
So  that  is  settled;  you  will  go  to  my  house. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      111 

Now,  you  may  sit  here,  or  walk  out  and  see 
the  sights." 

"If  you  please,  sir,  if  Mr.  Timmins  will  let 
me  look  at  some  of  the  books,  I  shouldn't 
wish  for  anything  better.  I  should  like  to 
look  at  'The  Wayfarer,'  so  that  I  shall  know 
how  to  recommend  it." 

"Mr.  Timmins  will  let  you,"  replied  Mr. 
Bayard,  as  he  touched  the  spring  of  a  bell  on 
his  desk. 

The  dapper  clerk  came  running  into  the 
counting  room  to  attend  the  summons  of  his 
employer. 

"Mr.  Timmins,"  continued  Mr.  Bayard,  with 
a  mischievous  smile,  "bring  Mr.  Bright  a  copy 
of  'The  Wayfarer.'" 

Mr.  Timmins  was  astonished  to  hear  "Coun 
try  "  called  "  Mister,"  astonished  to  hear  his 
employer  call  him  "Mister,"  and  Bobby  was 
astonished  to  hear  himself  called  "Mister." 
Nevertheless,  our  hero  enjoyed  the  joke. 

The  clerk  brought  the  book;  and  Bobby  pro- 


112  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

ceeded  to  give  it  a  thorough,  critical  examina 
tion.  He  read  the  preface,  the  table  of  con 
tents,  and  several  chapters  of  the  work,  before 
Mr.  Bayard  was  ready  to  go  home. 

"How  do  you  like  it,  Bobby?"  asked  the 
bookseller. 

"First  rate." 

"  You  may  take  that  copy  in  your  hand ;  you 
will  want  to  finish  it." 

"  Thank  you,  sir ;  I  will  be  careful  of  it." 

"You  may  keep  it.  Let  that  be  the  begin 
ning  of  your  own  private  library." 

His  own  private  library!  Bobby  had  not 
got  far  enough  to  dream  of  such  a  thing  yet; 
but  he  thanked  Mr.  Bayard,  and  put  the  book 
under  his  arm. 

After  tea,  Ellen  proposed  to  her  father  that 
they  should  all  go  to  the  Museum.  Mr.  Bayard 
acceded,  and  our  hero  was  duly  amazed  at  the 
drolleries  perpetrated  there.  He  had  a  good 
time ;  but  it  was  so  late  when  he  went  to  bed, 
that  he  was  a  little  fearful  lest  he  should  over 
sleep  himself  in  the  morning. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      113 

He  did  not,  however,  and  was  down  in  the 
parlor  before  any  of  the  rest  of  the  family  were 
stirring.  An  early  breakfast  was  prepared  for 
him,  at  which  Mr.  Bayard,  who  intended  to  see 
him  off,  joined  him.  Depositing  his  little  bundle 
and  the  copy  of  "The  Wayfarer"  in  the  valise 
provided  for  him,  they  walked  to  the  store. 
The  porter  wheeled  the  trunk  down  to  the 
railroad  station,  though  Bobby  insisted  upon 
doing  it  himself. 

The  bookseller  saw  him  and  his  baggage  safely 
aboard  of  the  cars,  gave  him  a  ticket,  and  then 
bade  him  an  affectionate  adieu.  In  a  little  while 
Bobby  was  flying  over  the  rail,  and  at  about  eight 
o'clock  reached  B . 

The  station  master  kindly  permitted  him  to 
deposit  his  trunk  in  the  baggage  room,  and  to 
leave  it  there  for  the  remainder  of  the  week. 

Taking  a  dozen  of  the  books  from  the  trunk, 
and  placing  them  in  his  valise,  he  sallied  out 
upon  his  mission.  It  must  be  confessed  that  his 
heart  was  filled  with  a  tumult  of  emotions.  The 


114  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

battle  of  life  was  before  him.  He  was  on  the 
field,  sword  in  hand,  ready  to  plunge  into  the  con 
test.  It  was  victory  or  defeat. 

"March  on,  brave  youth!  the  field  of  strife 

With  peril  fraught  before  thee  lies; 
March  on !    the  battle  plain  of  life 

Shall  yield  thee  yet  a  glorious  prize." 

It  was  of  no  use  to  shrink  then,  even  if  he  had 
felt  disposed  to  do  so.  He  was  prepared  to  be 
rebuffed,  to  be  insulted,  to  be  turned  away  from 
the  doors  at  which  he  should  seek  admission ;  but 
he  was  determined  to  conquer. 

He  had  reached  a  house  at  which  he  proposed 
to  offer  "  The  Wayfarer "  for  sale.  His  heart 
went  pit  pat,  pit  pat,  and  he  paused  before  the 
door. 

"  Now  or  never  I  "  exclaimed  he,  as  he  swung 
open  the  garden  gate,  and  made  his  way  up  to 
the  door. 

He  felt  some  misgivings.  It  was  so  new 
and  strange  to  him  that  he  could  hardly  muster 
sufficient  resolution  to  proceed  farther.  But 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      115 

his  irresolution  was  of  only  a  moment's  dura 
tion. 

"  Now  or  never ! "  and  he  gave  a  vigorous 
knock  at  the  door. 

It  was  opened  by  an  elderly  lady,  whose  physi 
ognomy  did  not  promise  much. 

"  Good  morning,  ma'am.  Can  I  sell  you  a 
copy  of  'The  Wayfarer'  to-day?  a  new  book, 
just  published." 

"No;  I  don't  want  none  of  your  books. 
There's  more  pedlers  round  the  country  now 
than  you  could  shake  a  stick  at  in  a  month," 
replied  the  old  lady,  petulantly. 

"  It  is  a  very  interesting  book,  ma'am ;  has  an 
excellent  moral."  Bobby  had  read  the  preface, 
as  I  before  remarked.  "It  will  suit  you,  ma'am; 
for  you  look  just  like  a  lady  who  wants  to  read 
something  with  a  moral." 

Bravo,  Bobby !  The  lady  concluded  that  her 
face  had  a  moral  expression,  and  she  was  pleased 
with  the  idea. 

"Let  me  see  it;"    and  she  asked  Bobby  to 


116  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

walk  in  and  be  seated,  while  she  went  for  her 
spectacles. 

As  she  was  looking  over  the  book,  our  hero 
went  into  a  more  elaborate  recommendation  of  its 
merits.  He  was  sure  it  would  interest  the  young 
and  the  old  ;  it  taught  a  good  lesson ;  it  had 
elegant  engravings ;  the  type  was  large,  which 
would  suit  her  eyes ;  it  was  well  printed  and 
bound;  and  finally,  it  was  cheap  at  one  dollar. 

"I'll  take  it,"  said  the  old  lady. 

"  Thank  you,  ma'am." 

Bobby's  first  victory  was  achieved. 

"Have  you  got  a  dollar?"  asked  the  lady,  as 
she  handed  him  a  two-dollar  bill. 

"  Yes,  ma'am ;  "  and  he  gave  her  his  only  dollar 
and  put  the  two  in  its  place,  prouder  than  a  king 
who  has  conquered  an  empire.  "  Thank  you 
ma'am." 

Bidding  the  lady  a  polite  good  morning,  he 
left  the  house,  encouraged  by  his  success  to  go 
forward  in  his  mission  with  undiminished  hope. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      117 


CHAPTER  X 

IN  WHICH  BOBBY  IS   A  LITTLE  TOO   SMAKT 

THE  clouds  were  rolled  back,  and  Bobby  no 
longer  had  a  doubt  as  to  the  success  of  his  un 
dertaking.  It  requires  but  a  little  sunshine  to 
gladden  the  heart,  and  the  influence  of  his  first 
success  scattered  all  the  misgivings  he  had 
cherished. 

Two  New  England  shillings  is  undoubtedly  a 
very  small  sum  of  money;  but  Bobby  had  made 
two  shillings,  and  he  would  not  have  considered 
himself  more  fortunate  if  some  unknown  rela 
tive  had  left  him  a  fortune.  It  gave  him  confi 
dence  in  his  powers,  and  as  he  walked  away 
from  the  house,  he  reviewed  the  circumstances  of 
his  first  sale. 

The  old  lady  had  told  him  at  first  she  did 
not  wish  to  buy  a  book,  and,  moreover,  had 
spoken  rather  contemptuously  of  the  craft  to 


118  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

which  he  had  now  the  honor  to  belong.  He 
gave  himself  the  credit  of  having  conquered  the 
old  lady's  prejudices.  He  had  sold  her  a  book 
in  spite  of  her  evident  intention  not  to  pur 
chase.  In  short,  he  had,  as  we  have  before  said, 
won  a  glorious  victory,  and  he  congratulated 
himself  accordingly. 

But  it  was  of  no  use  to  waste  time  in  useless 
self-glorification,  and  Bobby  turned  from  the  past 
to  the  future.  There  were  forty-nine  more 
books  to  be  sold;  so  that  the  future  was  forty- 
nine  times  as  big  as  the  past. 

He  saw  a  shoemaker's  shop  ahead  of  him, 
and  he  was  debating  with  himself  whether  he 
should  enter  and  offer  his  books  for  sale.  It 
would  do  no  harm,  though  he  had  but  slight 
expectations  of  doing  anything. 

There  were  three  men  at  work  in  the  shop— 
one  of  them  a  middle-aged  man,  the  other  two 
young  men.  They  looked  like  persons  of  intel 
ligence,  and  as  soon  as  Bobby  saw  them  his 
hopes  grew  stronger. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BBIGHT      119 

"Can  I  sell  you  any  books  to-day?"  asked 
the  little  merchant,  as  he  crossed  the  threshold. 

"Well,  I  don't  know;  that  depends  upon  how 
smart  you  are,"  replied  the  eldest  of  the  men. 
"It  takes  a  pretty  smart  fellow  to  sell  any 
thing  in  this  shop." 

"Then  I  hope  to  sell  each  of  you  a  book," 
added  Bobby,  laughing  at  the  badinage  of  the 
shoemaker. 

Opening  his  valise  he  took  out  three  copies 
of  his  book,  and  politely  handed  one  to  each  of 
the  men. 

"It  isn't  every  book  pedler  that  comes  along 
who  offers  you  such  a  work  as  that.  'The 
Wayfarer'  is  decidedly  the  book  of  the  season." 

"You  don't  say  so!"  said  the  oldest  shoe 
maker,  with  a  laugh.  "Every  pedler  that  comes 
along  uses  those  words,  precisely." 

"Do  they?    They  steal  my  thunder  then." 

"You  are  an  old  one." 

**  Only  thirteen.  I  was  born  where  they  don't 
fasten  the  door  with  a  boiled  carrot." 


120  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OB, 

"What  do  they  fasten  them  with?" 

"  They  don't  fasten  them  at  all." 

"There  are  no  book  pedlers  round  there, 
then ; "  and  all  the  shoemakers  laughed  heartily 
at  this  smart  sally. 

"No;  they  are  all  shoemakers  in  our  town." 

"You  can  take  my  hat,  boy." 

"  You  will  want  it  to  put  your  head  in  ;  but 
I  will  take  one  dollar  for  that  book  instead." 

The  man  laughed,  took  out  his  wallet,  and 
handed  Bobby  the  dollar,  probably  quite  as 
much  because  he  had  a  high  appreciation  of  his 
smartness,  as  from  any  desire  to  possess  the 
book. 

"Won't  you  take  one?"  asked  Bobby,  appeal 
ing  to  another  of  the  men,  who  was  apparently 
not  more  than  twenty-four  years  of  age. 

"No;  I  can't  read,"  replied  he  roguishly. 

"Let  your  wife  read  it  to  you,  then." 

"My  wife?" 

"  Certainly ;  she  knows  how  to  read,  I  will 
warrant." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  HOBBY  BEIGHT      121 

"  How  do  you  know  I  have  got  a  wife  ? " 

"  O,  well,  a  fellow  as  good  looking  and  good 
natured  as  you  are  could  not  have  resisted  till 
this  time." 

"Has  you,  Tom,"  added  the  oldest  shoemaker. 

"I  cave  in;"  and  he  handed  over  the  dollar, 
and  laid  the  book  upon  his  bench. 

Bobby  looked  at  the  third  man  with  some 
interest.  He  had  said  nothing,  and  scarcely 
heeded  the  fun  which  was  passing  between  the 
little  merchant  and  his  companions.  He  was 
apparently  absorbed  in  his  examination  of  the 
book.  He  was  a  different  kind  of  person  from 
the  others,  and  Bobby's  instinctive  knowledge  of 
human  nature  assured  him  that  he  was  not  to 
be  gained  by  flattery  or  by  smart  sayings ;  so 
he  placed  himself  in  front  of  him,  and  patiently 
waited  in  silence  for  him  to  complete  his  exami 
nation. 

"You  will  find  that  he  is  a  hard  one,"  put 
in  one  of  the  others. 

Bobby  made  no  reply,  and  the   two   men  who 


122  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

had  bought  books  resumed  their  work.  For  five 
minutes  our  hero  stood  waiting  for  the  man  to 
finish  his  investigation  into  the  merits  of  "The 
Wayfarer."  Something  told  him  not  to  say  any 
thing  to  this  person;  and  he  had  some  doubts 
about  his  purchasing. 

"I  will  take  one,"  said  the  last  shoemaker,  as 
he  handed  Bobby  the  dollar. 

"I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  gentlemen,"  said 
Bobby,  as  he  closed  his  valise.  "When  I  come 
this  way  again  I  shall  certainly  call." 

"Do;  you  have  done  what  no  other  pedler 
ever  did  in  this  shop." 

"I  shall  take  no  credit  to  myself.  The  fact 
is,  you  are  men  of  intelligence,  and  you  want 
good  books." 

Bobby  picked  up  his  valise  and  left  the  shop, 
satisfied  with  those  who  occupied  it,  and  satis 
fied  with  himself. 

"  Eight  shillings  I "  exclaimed  he,  when  he  got 
into  the  road.  "Pretty  good  hour's  work,  I 
should  say." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      123 

Bobby  trudged  along  till  he  came  to  a  very 
large,  elegant  house,  evidently  dwelt  in  by  one 
of  the  nabobs  of  B .  Inspired  by  past  suc 
cesses,  he  walked  boldly  up  to  the  front  door, 
and  rang  the  bell. 

"Is  Mr.  Whiting  in?"  asked  Bobby,  who  had 
read  the  name  on  the  door  plate. 

"Colonel  Whiting  is  in,"  replied  the  servant, 
who  had  opened  the  door. 

"I  should  like  to  see  him  for  a  moment,  if 
he  isn't  busy." 

"  Walk  in ; "  and  for  some  reason  or  other  the 
servant  chuckled  a  great  deal  as  she  admitted 
him. 

She  conducted  him  to  a  large,  elegantly  fur 
nished  parlor,  where  Bobby  proceeded  to  take 
out  his  books  for  the  inspection  of  the  nabob, 
whom  the  servant  promised  to  send  to  the  parlor. 

In  a  moment  Colonel  Whiting  entered.  He 
was  a  large,  fat  man,  about  fifty  years  old.  He 
looked  at  the  little  book  merchant  with  a  frown 
that  would  have  annihilated  a  boy  less  spunky 


124  NOW  OU  NEVER  ;   OR, 

than  our  hero.  Bobby  was  not  a  little  inflated 
by  the  successes  of  the  morning,  and  if  Julius 
Csesar  or  Napoleon  Bonaparte  had  stood  before 
him  then,  he  would  not  have  flinched  a  hair  — 
much  less  in  the  presence  of  no  greater  magnate 
than  the  nabob  of  B . 

"  Good  morning,  Colonel  Whiting.  I  hope  you 
are  well  this  beautiful  morning,"  Bobby  began. 

I  must  confess  I  think  this  was  a  little  too 
familiar  for  a  boy  of  thirteen  to  a  gentleman  of 
fifty,  whom  he  had  never  seen  before  in  his 
life ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  Bobby 
had  done  a  great  deal  the  week  before,  that  on 
the  preceding  night  he  had  slept  in  Chestnut 
Street,  and  that  he  had  just  sold  four  copies 
of  "  The  Wayfarer."  He  was  inclined  to  be 
smart,  and  some  folks  hate  smart  boys. 

The  nabob  frowned;  his  cheek  reddened  with 
anger;  but  he  did  not  condescend  to  make  any 
reply  to  the  smart  speech. 

"I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  call  upon  you 
this  morning,  to  see  if  you  did  not  wish  to  pur- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  B BIGHT      125 

chase  a  copy  of  'The  Wayfarer'  —  a  new  book 
just  issued  from  the  press,  which  people  say  is 
to  be  the  book  of  the  season." 

My  young  readers  need  not  suppose  this  was 
an  impromptu  speech,  for  Bobby  had  studied 
upon  it  all  the  time  he  was  coming  from  Boston 
in  the  cars.  It  would  be  quite  natural  for  a 
boy  who  had  enjoyed  no  greater  educational 
advantages  than  our  hero  to  consider  how  he 
should  address  people  into  whose  presence  his 
calling  would  bring  him;  and  he  had  pre 
pared  several  little  addresses  of  this  sort,  for 
the  several  different  kinds  of  people  whom  he' 
expected  to  encounter.  The  one  he  had  just 
"  got  off "  was  designed  for  the  "  upper  crust." 

When  he  had  delivered  the  speech,  he  ap 
proached  the  indignant,  frowning  nabob,  and, 
with  a  low  bow,  offered  him  a  copy  of  "The 
Wayfarer." 

"Boy,"  said  Colonel  Whiting,  raising  his  arm 
with  majestic  dignity,  and  pointing  to  the  door, 
—  "  boy,  do  you  see  that  door  ?  " 


1^6  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Bobby  looked  at  the  door,  and,  somewhat 
astonished,  replied  that  he  did  see  it,  that  it  was 
a  very  handsome  door,  and  he  would  inquire 
whether  it  was  black  walnut,  or  only  painted 
in  imitation  thereof. 

"  Do  you  see  that  door  ? "  thundered  the 
nabob,  swelling  with  rage  at  the  cool  impu 
dence  of  the  boy. 

"Certainly  I  do,  sir;  my  eyesight  is  excel 
lent."  ' 

"Then  use  it!" 

"  Thank  you,  sir ;  I  have  no  use  for  it.  Prob 
ably  it  will  be  of  more  service  to  you  than  to 
me." 

"  Will  you  clear  out,  or  shall  I  kick  you 
out?"  gasped  the  enraged  magnate  of  B . 

"I  will  save  you  that  trouble,  sir;  I 
will  go,  sir.  I  see  we  have  both  made  a  mis 
take." 

"  Mistake  ?  What  do  you  mean  by  that,  you 
young  puppy?  You  are  a  little  impudent,  thiev 
ing  scoundrel  1 " 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      127 

"That  is  your  mistake,  sir.  I  took  you 
for  a  gentleman,  sir;  and  that  was  my  mis 
take." 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha ! "  laughed  a  sweet,  musical  voice, 
and  at  that  moment  a  beautiful  young  lady 
rushed  up  to  the  angry  colonel,  and  threw  her 
arms  around  his  neck. 

«  The  jade ! "  muttered  he. 

"I  have  caught  you  in  a  passion  again,  uncle;" 
and  the  lady  kissed  the  old  gentleman's  anger- 
reddened  cheek,  which  seemed  to  restore  him 
at  once  to  himself. 

"It  was  enough  to  make  a  minister  swear," 
said  he,  in  apology. 

"No,  it  wasn't,  uncle;  the  boy  was  a  little 
pert,  it  is  true;  but  you  ought  to  have  laughed 
at  him,  instead  of  getting  angry.  I  heard  the 
whole  of  it." 

"Pert?"  said  Bobby  to  himself.  "What  the 
deuce  does  she  mean  by  that?" 

"Very  well,  you  little  minx;  I  will  pay  the 
penalty." 


128  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OB, 

"  Come  here,  Master  Pert,"  said  the  lady  to 
Bobby. 

Bobby  bowed,  approached  the  lady,  and  began 
to  feel  very  much  embarrassed. 

"My  uncle,"  she  continued,  "is  one  of  the 
best-hearted  men  in  the  world  —  ain't  you, 
uncle?" 

"  Go  on,  you  jade  ! " 

"  I  love  him,  as  I  would  my  own  father ;  but 
he  will  sometimes  get  into  a  passion.  Now, 
you  provoked  him." 

"Indeed,  ma'am,  I  hadn't  the  least  idea  of 
saying  anything  uncivil,"  pleaded  Bobby.  "I 
studied  to  be  as  polite  as  possible." 

"  I  dare  say.  You  were  too  important,  too 
pompous,  for  a  boy  to  an  old  gentleman  like 
uncle,  who  is  really  one  of  the  best  men  in  the 
world.  Now,  if  you  hadn't  studied  to  be  polite, 
you  would  have  done  very  well." 

"Indeed,  ma'am,  I  am  a  poor  boy,  trying  to 
make  a  little  money  to  help  my  mother.  I  am 
sure  I  meant  no  harm." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  B1UGHT      129 

"I  know  you  didn't.  So  you  are  selling 
books  to  help  your  mother?" 

"Yes,  ma'am." 

She  inquired  still  further  into  the  little  mer 
chant's  history,  and  seemed  to  be  very  much 
interested  in  him. 

In  a  frolic,  a  few  days  before,  Bobby  learned 
from  her,  Colonel  Whiting  had  agreed  to  pay 
any  penalty  she  might  name,  the  next  time  he 
got  into  a  passion. 

"Now,  young  man,  what  book  have  you  to 
sell?"  asked  the  lady. 

"'The  Wayfarer.'" 

"How  many  have  you  in  your  valise?" 

"Eight." 

"Very  well;  now,  uncle,  I  decree,  as  the  pen 
alty  of  your  indiscretion,  that  you  purchase  the 
whole  stock." 

"I  submit." 

" '  The  Wayfarer '  promises  to  be  an  excellent 
book ;  and  I  can  name  at  least  half  a  dozen  per 
sons  who  will  thank  you  for  a  copy,  uncle." 


130  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

Colonel  Whiting  paid  Bobby  eight  dollars, 
who  left  the  contents  of  his  valise  on  the  centre 
table,  and  then  departed,  astounded  at  his  good 
fortune,  and  fully  resolved  never  to  be  too  smart 
again. 


131 


CHAPTER  XI 

IN   WHICH  BOBBY    STRIKES   A  BALANCE,  AND  RE 
TURNS  TO  RIVERDALE 

OUR  hero  had  learned  a  lesson  which  experi 
ence  alone  could  teach  him.  The  consciousness 
of  that  "  something  within  him "  inclined  him 
to  be  a  little  too  familiar  with  his  elders;  but 
then  it  gave  him  confidence  in  himself,  and  im 
parted  courage  to  go  forward  in  the  accomplish 
ment  of  his  mission.  His  interview  with  Colonel 
Whiting  and  the  gentle  but  plain  rebuke  of  his 
niece  had  set  him  right,  and  he  realized  that, 
while  he  was  doing  a  man's  work,  he  was  still  a 
boy.  He  had  now  a  clearer  perception  of  what 
is  due  to  the  position  and  dignity  of  those  upon 
whom  fortune  has  smiled. 

Bobby  wanted  to  be  a  man,  and  it  is  not 
strange  that  he  should  sometimes  fancy  he  was 
a  man.  He  had  an  idea,  too,  that  "all  men  are 


132  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

born  free  and  equal ; "  and  he  could  not  exactly 
see  why  a  nabob  was  entitled  to  any  more  re 
spect  and  consideration  than  a  poor  man.  It 
was  a  lesson  he  was  compelled  to  learn,  though 
some  folks  live  out  their  lifetimes  without  ever 
finding  out  that. 

"'Tis  wealth,  good  sir,  makes  honorable  men." 
Some  people  think  a  rich  man  is  no  better  than 
a  poor  man,  except  so  far  as  he  behaves  himself 
better.  It  is  strange  how  stupid  some  people 
are! 

Bobby  had  no  notion  of  cringing  to  any  man, 
and  he  felt  as  independent  as  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  itself.  But  then  the  beautiful 
lady  had  told  him  that  he  was  pert  and  for 
ward;  and  when  he  thought  it  over,  he  w;is 
willing  to  believe  she  was  right.  Colonel  Whit 
ing  was  an  old  man,  compared  with  himself; 
and  he  had  some  faith,  at  least  in  theory,  in  the 
Spartan  virtue  of  respect  for  the  aged.  Prob 
ably  the  nabob  of  B would  have  objected  to 

being  treated  with  respect  on  account  of  his 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      133 

age ;  and  Bobby  would  have  been  equally  un 
willing  to  acknowledge  that  he  treated  him  with 
peculiar  respect  on  account  of  his  wealth  or 
position. 

Perhaps  the  little  merchant  had  an  instinc 
tive  perception  of  expediency  —  that  he  should 
sell  more  books  by  being  less  familiar;  at  any 
rate  he  determined  never  again  to  use  the 
flowery  speeches  he  had  arranged  for  the  upper 
crust. 

He  had  sold  a  dozen  books;  and  possibly 
this  fact  made  him  more  willing  to  compromise 
the  matter  than  he  would  otherwise  have  been. 
This  was,  after  all,  the  great  matter  for  con 
gratulation,  and  with  a  light  heart  he  hurried 
back  to  the  railroad  station  to  procure  another 
supply. 

We  cannot  follow  him  into  every  house 
where  his  calling  led  him.  He  was  not  always 
as  fortunate  as  in  the  instances  we  have  men 
tioned.  Sometimes  all  his  arguments  were  un 
availing,  and  after  he  had  spent  half  an  hour 


134  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

of  valuable  time  in  setting  forth  the  merits  of 
"The  Wayfarer,"  he  was  compelled  to  retire 
without  having  effected  a  sale.  Sometimes,  too, 
he  was  rudely  repulsed ;  hard  epithets  were 
applied  to  him;  old  men  and  old  women,  wor 
ried  out  by  the  continued  calls  of  pedlers, 
sneered  at  him,  or  shut  the  door  in  his  face; 
but  Bobby  was  not  disheartened.  He  perse 
vered,  and  did  not  allow  these  little  trials  to 
discompose  or  discourage  him. 

By  one  o'clock  on  the  first  day  of  his  service 
he  had  sold  eighteen  books,  which  far  exceeded 
even  his  most  sanguine  expectations.  By  this 
time  he  began  to  feel  the  want  of  his  dinner; 
but  there  was  no  tavern  or  eating  house  at 
hand,  and  he  could  not  think  of  leaving  the 
harvest  to  return  to  the  railroad  station;  so  he 
bought  a  sheet  of  gingerbread  and  a  piece  of 
cheese  at  a  store,  and  seating  himself  near  a 
brook  by  the  side  of  the  road,  he  bolted  his 
simple  meal,  as  boys  are  very  apt  to  do  when 
they  are  excited. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      135 

When  he  had  finished,  he  took  out  his  ac 
count  book,  and  entered,  "Dinner,  10  cents." 
Resuming  his  business,  he  disposed  of  the  re 
maining  six  books  in  his  valise  by  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon,  and  was  obliged  to  return  for 
another  supply. 

About  six  o'clock  he  entered  the  house  of  a 
mechanic,  just  as  the  family  were  sitting  down 
to  tea.  He  recommended  his  book  with  so 
much  energy,  that  the  wife  of  the  mechanic 
took  a  fancy  to  him,  and  not  only  purchased 
one,  but  invited  him  to  tea.  Bobby  accepted 
the  invitation,  and  in  the  course  of  the  meal 
the  good  lady  drew  from  him  the  details  of  his 
history,  which  he  very  modestly  related,  for 
though  he  sometimes  fancied  himself  a  man,  he 
was  not  the  boy  to  boast  of  his  exploits.  His 
host  was  so  much  pleased  with  him,  that  he 
begged  him  to  spend  the  night  with  them. 
Bobby  had  been  thinking  how  and  where  he 
should  spend  the  night,  and  the  matter  had 
given  him  no  little  concern.  He  did  not  wish 


136  NOW  Oil  NEVER;   OR, 

to  go  to  the  hotel,  for  it  looked  like  a  very 
smart  house,  and  he  reasoned  that  he  should 
have  to  pay  pretty  roundly  for  accommodations 
there.  These  high  prices  would  eat  up  his 
profits,  and  he  seriously  deliberated  whether  it 
would  not  be  better  for  him  to  sleep  under  a 
tree  than  pay  fifty  cents  for  a  lodging. 

If  I  had  been  there  I  should  have  told  him 
that  a  man  loses  nothing  in  the  long  run  by 
taking  good  care  of  himself.  He  must  eat  well 
and  sleep  well,  in  order  to  do  well  and  be  well. 
But  I  suppose  Bobby  would  have  told  me  that 
it  was  of  no  use  to  pay  a  quarter  extra  for 
sleeping  on  a  gilded  bedstead,  since  the  room 
would  be  so  dark  he  could  not  see  the  gilt 
even  if  he  wished  to  do  so.  I  could  not  have 
said  anything  to  such  a  powerful  argument, 
so  I  am  very  glad  the  mechanic's  wife  set  the 
matter  at  rest  by  offering  him  a  bed  in  her 
house. 

He  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening  with  the 
family,  who  made  him  feel  entirely  at  home, 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      137 

they  were  so  kind  and  so  plain  spoken.  Before 
he  went  to  bed,  he  entered  under  the  book  ac 
count,  "  By  twenty-six  '  Wayfarers,'  sold  this  day, 
$26.00." 

He  had  done  a  big  day's  work,  much  bigger 
than  he  could  hope  to  do  again.  He  had  sold 
more  than  one  half  of  his  whole  stock,  and  at 
this  rate  he  should  be  out  of  books  the  next 
day.  At  first  he  thought  he  would  send  for 
another  lot;  but  he  could  not  judge  yet  what 
his  average  daily  sales  would  be,  and  finally 
concluded  not  to  do  so.  What  he  had  might 
last  till  Friday  or  Saturday.  He  intended  to 
go  home  on  the  latter  day,  and  he  could  bring 
them  with  him  on  his  return  without  expense. 
This  was  considerable  of  an  argument  for  a 
boy  to  manage;  but  Bobby  was  satisfied  with 
it,  and  went  to  sleep,  wondering  what  his 
mother,  Squire  Lee,  and  Annie  were  thinking 
of  about  that  time. 

After  breakfast  the  next  morning  he  resumed 
his  travels.  He  was'  as  enthusiastic  as  ever, 


138  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OB, 

and  pressed  "The  Wayfarer"  with  so  much 
earnestness  that  he  sold  a  book  in  nearly  every 
house  he  visited.  People  seemed  to  be  more 
interested  in  the  little  merchant  than  in  his 
stock,  and  taking  advantage  of  this  kind  feel 
ing  towards  him,  he  appealed  to  them  with  so 
much  eloquence  that  few  could  resist  it. 

The  result  of  the  day's  sales  was  fifteen  copies, 
which  Bobby  entered  in  the  book  account  with 
the  most  intense  satisfaction.  He  had  outdone 
the  boy  who  had  passed  through  Riverdale,  -but 
he  had  little  hope  that  the  harvest  would  always 
be  so  abundant. 

He  often  thought  of  this  boy,  from  whom  he 
had  obtained  the  idea  he  was  now  carrying  out. 
That  boy  had  stopped  over  night  at  the  little 
black  house,  and  slept  with  him.  He  had  asked 
for  lodging,  and  offered  to  pay  for  it,  as  well 
as  for  his  supper  and  breakfast.  Why  couldn't 
he  do  the  same?  He  liked  the  suggestion,  and 
from  that  time,  wherever  he  happened  to  be, 
he  asked  for  lodging,  or  the  meal  he  required; 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      139 

and  he  always  proposed  to  pay  for  what  he  had, 
but  very  few  would  take  anything. 

On  Friday  noon  he  had  sold  out.  Returning 
to  the  railroad  station,  he  found  that  the  train 
would  not  leave  for  the  city  for  an  hour;  so  he 
improved  the  time  in  examining  and  balancing 
his  accounts.  The  book  sales  amounted  to  just 
fifty  dollars,  and,  after  his  ticket  to  Boston  was 
paid  for,  his  expenses  would  amount  to  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents,  leaving  a  balance  in  his 
favor  of  fifteen  dollars.  He  was  overjoyed  with 
the  result,  and  pictured  the  astonishment  with 
which  his  mother,  Squire  Lee,  and  Annie  would 
listen  to  the  history  of  his  excursion. 

After  four  o'clock  that  afternoon  h«  entered 
the  store  of  Mr.  Bayard,  bag  and  baggage.  On 
his  arrival  in  the  city,  he  was  considerably 
exercised  in  mind  to  know  how  he  should  get 
the  trunk  to  his  destination.  He  was  too 
economical  to  pay  a  cartman  a  quarter ;  but 
what  would  have  seemed  mean  in  a  man  was 
praiseworthy  in  a  boy  laboring  for  a  noble  end. 


140  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Probably  a  great  many  of  my  young  readers 
in  Bobby's  position,  thinking  that  sixteen  dollars, 
which  our  hero  had  in  his  pocket,  was  a  mint 
of  money,  would  have  been  in  favor  of  being 
a  little  magnificent,  —  of  taking  a  carriage  and 
going  up-town  in  state.  Bobby  had  not  the 
least  desire  to  "  swell ; "  so  he  settled  the  matter 
by  bargaining  with  a  little  ragged  fellow  to 
help  him  carry  the  trunk  to  Mr.  Bayard's  store 
for  fourpence. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Timmins  ?  "  said  Bobby 
to  the  spruce  clerk,  as  he  deposited  the  trunk 
upon  the  floor,  and  handed  the  ragged  boy  the 
fourpence. 

"Ah,  Bobby!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Timmins.  "Have 
you  sold  out?" 

"All  clean.     Is  Mr.  Bayard  in?" 

"  In  the  office.     But  how  do  you  like  it  ?  " 

"  First  rate." 

"  Well,  every  one  to  his  taste  ;  but  I  don't 
see  how  any  one  who  has  any  regard  for  his 
dignity  can  stick  himself  into  everybody's  house. 
I  couldn't  do  it,  I  know." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      141 

"I  don't  stand  for  the  dignity." 

"Ah,  well,  there  is  a  difference  in  folks." 

"That's  a  fact,"  replied  Bobby,  as  he  hur 
ried  to  the  office  of  Mr.  Bayard,  leaving 
Mr.  Timmins  to  sun  himself  in  his  own 
dignity. 

The  bookseller  was  surprised  to  see  him  so 
soon,  but  he  gave  him  a  cordial  reception. 

"I  didn't  expect  you  yet,"  said  he.  "Why 
do  you  come  back?  Have  you  got  sick  of  the 
business  ?  " 

"Sick  of  it!     No,  sir." 

"  What  have  you  come  back  for,  then  ? " 

"Sold  out,  sir." 

"Sold  out!     You  have  done  well!" 

"  Better  than  I  expected." 

"  I  had  no  idea  of  seeing  you  till  to-morrow 
night;  and  I  thought  you  would  have  books 
enough  to  begin  the  next  week  with.  You 
have  done  bravely." 

"  If  I  had  had  twenty  more,  I  could  have  sold 
them  before  to-morrow  night.  Now,  sir,  if  you 


142  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

please,  I  will  pay  you  for  those  books  —  thirty- 
three  dollars  and  fifty  cents." 

"You  had  better  keep  that,  Bobby.  I  will 
trust  you  as  long  as  you  wish." 

"  If  you  please,  sir,  I  had  rather  pay  it ; "  and 
the  little  merchant,  as  proud  as  a  lord,  handed 
over  the  amount. 

"  I  like  your  way  of  doing  business,  Bobby. 
Nothing  helps  a  man's  credit  so  much  as  pay 
ing  promptly.  Now  tell  me  some  of  your  ad 
ventures —  or  we  will  reserve  them  till  this 
evening,  for  I  am  sure  Ellen  will  be  delighted 
to  hear  them." 

"I  think  I  shall  go  to  Riverdale  this  after 
noon.  The  cars  leave  at  half  past  five." 

"  Very  well ;  you  have  an  hour  to  spare." 

Bobby  related  to  his  kind  friend  the  incidents 
of  his  excursion,  including  his  interview  with 
Colonel  Whiting  and  his  niece,  which  amused 
the  bookseller  very  much.  He  volunteered  some 
good  advice,  which  Bobby  received  in  the  right 
spirit,  and  with  a  determination  to  profit  by  it. 


At  half  past  five  he  took  the  cars  for  home, 
and  before  dark  was  folded  in  his  mother's  arms. 
The  little  black  house  seemed  doubly  dear  to 
him  now  that  he  had  been  away  from  it  a  few 
days.  His  mother  and  all  the  children  were  so 
glad  to  see  him  that  it  seemed  almost  worth 
his  while  to  go  away  for  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
them  on  his  return. 


144  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 


CHAPTER   XII 

IN    WHICH   BOBBY    ASTONISHES   SUNDRY  PERSONS 
AND   PAYS  PART    OF    HIS   NOTE 

"Now  tell  me,  Bobby,  how  you  have  made 
out,"  said  Mrs.  Bright,  as '  the  little  merchant 
seated  himself  at  the  supper  table.  "You  can 
not  have  done  much,  for  you  have  only  been 
gone  five  days." 

"I  have  done  pretty  well,  mother,"  replied 
Bobby,  mysteriously ;  "  pretty  well,  considering 
that  I  am  only  a  boy." 

"I  didn't  expect  to  see  you  till  to-morrow 
night." 

"I  sold  out,  and  had  to  come  home." 

"  That  may  be,  and  still  you  may  not  have 
done  much." 

"I  don't  pretend  that  I  have  done  much." 

"  How  provoking  you  are !  Why  don't  you 
tell  me,  Bobby,  what  you  have  done?" 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      145 

"Wait  a  minute,  mother,  till  I  have  done  my 
supper,  and  then  I  will  show  you  the  footings 
in  my  ledger." 

"Your  ledger!" 

"Yes,  my  ledger.     I  keep  a  ledger  now." 

"You  are  a  great  man,  Mr.  Robert  Bright," 
laughed  his  mother.  "I  suppose  the  people 
took  their  hats  off  when  they  saw  you  com- 
ing." 

"  Not  exactly,  mother." 

"Perhaps  the  governor  came  out  to  meet  you 
when  he  heard  you  were  on  the  road." 

"  Perhaps  he  did ;  I  didn't  see  him,  however. 
This  apple  pie  tastes  natural,  mother.  It  is  a 
great  luxury  to  get  home  after  one  has  been 
travelling." 

"Very  likely." 

"  No  place  like  home,  after  all  is  done  and 
said.  Who  was  the  fellow  that  wrote  that  song, 
mother  ?  " 

"I  forget;  the  paper  said  he  spent  a  great 
many  years  in  foreign  parts.  My  sake  !  Bobby, 


146  NOW  OR   NEVER;   OR, 

one  would  think  by  your  talk  that  you  had 
been  away  from  home  for  a  year." 

"It  seems  like  a  year,"  said  he,  as  he  trans 
ferred  another  quarter  of  the  famous  apple  pie 
to  his  plate.  "  I  miss  home  very  much.  I  don't 
more  than  half  like  being  among  strangers  so 
much." 

"It  is  your  own  choice;  no  one  wants  you 
to  go  away  from  home." 

"I  must  pay  my  debts,  anyhow.  Don't  I 
owe  Squire  Lee  sixty  dollars?" 

"But  I  can  pay  that." 

"It  is  my  affair,  you  see." 

"If  it  is  your  affair,  then  I  owe  you  sixty 
dollars." 

"No,  you  don't;  I  calculate  to  pay  my  board 
now.  I  am  old  enough  and  big  enough  to  do 
something." 

"You  have  done  something  ever  since  you 
were  old  enough  to  work." 

"Not  much;  I  don't  wonder  that  miserable 
old  hunker  of  a  Hardhand  twitted  me  about  it. 


By  the  way,  have  you  heard  anything  from 
him?" 

"Not  a  thing." 

"He  has  got  enough  of  us,  I  reckon." 

"You  mustn't  insult  him,  Bobby,  if  you  hap 
pen  to  see  him." 

"Never  fear  me." 

"You  know  the  Bible  says  we  must  love  our 
enemies,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use 
us  and  persecute  us." 

"  I  should  pray  that  the  Old  Nick  might  get 
him." 

"  No,  Bobby ;  I  hope  you  haven't  forgot  all 
your  Sunday  school  lessons." 

"  I  was  wrong,  mother,"  replied  Bobby,  a  little 
moved.  "  I  did  not  mean  so.  I  shall  try  to 
think  as  well  of  him  as  I  can ;  but  I  can't  help 
thinking,  if  all  the  world  was  like  him,  what  a 
desperate  hard  time  we  should  have  of  it." 

"  We  must  thank  the  Lord  that  he  has  given 
us  so  many  good  and  true  men." 

"Such  as    Squire   Lee,  for    instance,"    added 


148  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Bobby,  as  he  rose  from  the  table  and  put  his 
chair  back  against  the  wall.  "  The  squire  is 
fit  to  be  a  king;  and  though  I  believe  in  the 
Constitution  and  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  I  wouldn't  mind  seeing  a  crown  upon 
his  head." 

"He  will  receive  his  crown  in  due  time," 
replied  Mrs.  Bright,  piously. 

"The  squire?" 

"The  crown  of  rejoicing,  I  mean." 

"  Just  so ;  the  squire  is  a  nice  man ;  and  I 
know  another  just  like  him." 

"Who?" 

"  Mr.  Bayard ;  they  are  as  near  alike  as  two 
peas." 

"I  am  dying  to  know  about  your  journey." 

"  Wait  a  minute,  mother,  till  we  clear  away 
the  supper  things ; "  and  Bobby  took  hold,  as  he 
had  been  accustomed,  to  help  remove  and  wash 
the  dishes. 

"You  needn't  help  now,  Bobby." 

"Yes,  I  will,  mother." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      149 

Somehow  our  hero's  visit  to  the  city  did  not 
seem  to  produce  the  usual  effect  upon  him  ;  for 
a  great  many  boys,  after  they  had  been  abroad, 
would  have  scorned  to  wash  dishes  and  wipe 
them.  A  week  in  town  has  made  many  a  boy  so 
smart  that  you  couldn't  touch  him  with  a  ten 
foot  pole.  It  starches  them  up  so  stiff  that 
sometimes  they  don't  know  their  own  mothers, 
and  deem  it  a  piece  of  condescension  to  speak  a 
word  to  the  patriarch  in  a  blue  frock  who 
had  the  honor  of  supporting  them  in  child 
hood. 

Bobby  was  none  of  this  sort.  We  lament  that 
he  had  a  habit  of  talking  big,  that  is,  of  talk 
ing  about  business  affairs  in  a  style  a  little  be 
yond  his  years.  But  he  was  modest  to  a  fault, 
paradoxical  as  it  may  seem.  He  was  always 
blushing  when  anybody  spoke  a  pretty  thing 
about  him.  Probably  the  circumstances  of  his 
position  elevated  him  above  the  sphere  of  the 
mere  boy ;  he  had  spent  but  little  time  in  play, 
and  his  attention  had  been  directed  at  all  times 


150  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

to  the  wants  of  his  mother.  He  had  thought  a 
great  deal  about  business,  especially  since  the 
visit  of  the  boy  who  sold  books  to  the  little 
black  house. 

Some  boys  are  born  merchants,  and  from  their 
earliest  youth  have  a  genius  for  trade.  They 
think  of  little  else.  They  "  play  shop "  before 
they  wear  jackets,  and  drive  a  barter  trade  in 
jackknives,  whistles,  tops,  and  fishing  lines  long 
before  they  get  into  their  teens.  They  are 
shrewd  even  then,  and  obtain  a  taste  for  com 
merce  before  they  are  old  enough  to  know  the 
meaning  of  the  word. 

We  saw  a  boy  in  school,  not  long  since,  give 
the  value  of  eighteen  cents  for  a  little  stunted 
quince ;  boys  have  a  taste  for  raw  quinces, 
strange  as  it  may  seem.  Undoubtedly  he  had 
no  talent  for  trade,  and  would  make  a  very  in 
different  tin  pedler.  Our  hero  was  shrewd.  He 
always  got  the  best  end  of  the  bargain;  though, 
I  am  happy  to  say,  his  integrity  was  too  un 
yielding  to  let  him  cheat  his  fellows. 


TIIE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      151 

We  have  made  this  digression  so  that  my 
young  readers  may  know  why  Bobby  was  so 
much  given  to  big  talk.  The  desire  to  do  some 
thing  worthy  of  a  good  son  turned  his  atten 
tion  to  matters  above  his  sphere ;  and  thinking 
of  great  things,  he  had  come  to  talk  great 
things.  It  was  not  a  bad  fault,  after  all.  Boys 
need  not  necessarily  be  frivolous.  Play  is  a 
good  thing,  an  excellent  thing,  in  its  place,  and 
is  as  much  a  part  of  the  boy's  education  as  his 
grammar  and  arithmetic.  It  not  only  develops 
his  muscles,  but  enlarges  his  mental  capacity; 
it  not  only  fills  with  excitement  the  idle  hours 
of  the  long  day,  but  it  sharpens  the  judgment, 
and  helps  to  fit  the  boy  for  the  active  duties  of 
life. 

It  need  not  be  supposed,  because  Bobby  had 
to  turn  his  attention  to  serious  things,  that  he 
was  not  fond  of  fun;  that  he  could  not  or  did 
not  play.  At  a  game  of  round  ball,  he  was  a 
lucky  fellow  who  secured  him  upon  his  side ; 
for  the  same  energy  which  made  him  a  useful 


152  NOW  OR   NEVER;   OR, 

son  rendered  him  a  desirable  hand  in  a  difficult 
game. 

When  the  supper  things  were  all  removed, 
the  dishes  washed  and  put  away,  Bobby  drew 
out  his  pocket  memorandum  book.  It  was  a 
beautiful  article,  and  Mrs.  Bright  was  duly  as 
tonished  at  its  gilded  leaves  and  the  elegant 
workmanship.  Very  likely  her  first  impulse  was 
to  reprove  her  son  for  such  a  piece  of  reckless 
extravagance ;  but  this  matter  was  set  right 
by  Bobby's  informing  her  how  it  came  into  his 
possession. 

"Here  is  my  ledger,  mother,"  he  said,  hand 
ing  her  the  book. 

Mrs.  Bright  put  on  her  spectacles,  and  after 
bestowing  a  careful  scrutiny  upon  the  memo 
randum  book,  turned  to  the  accounts. 

"  Fifty  books ! "  she  exclaimed,  as  she  read 
the  first  entry. 

"  Yes,  mother ;  and  I  sold  them  all." 

"Fifty  dollars!" 

"  But  I  had  to  pay  for  the  books  out  of  that." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      153 

"To  be  sure  you  had;  but  I  suppose  you 
made  as  much  as  ten  cents  apiece  on  them, 
and  that  would  be  —  let  me  see;  ten  times 
fifty " 

"But  I  made  more  than  that,  I  hope." 

"How  much?" 

The  proud  young  merchant  referred  her  to 
the  profit  and  loss  account,  which  exhibited  a 
balance  of  fifteen  dollars. 

"  Gracious !     Three  dollars  a  day ! " 

"Just  so,  mother.  Now  I  will  pay  you  the 
dollar  I  borrowed  of  you  when  I  went 
away." 

"You  didn't  borrow  it  of  me." 

"But  I  shall  pay  it." 

Mrs.  Bright  was  astonished  at  this  unexpected 
and  gratifying  result.  If  she  had  discovered  a 
gold  mine  in  the  cellar  of  the  little  black 
house,  it  could  not  have  afforded  her  so  much 
satisfaction;  for  this  money  was  the  reward  of 
her  son's  talent  and  energy.  Her  own  earnings 
scarcely  ever  amounted  to  more  than  three  or 


154  NOW  OR  NEVER  ;   OR, 

four  dollars  a  week,  and  Bobby,  a  boy  of  thir- 
teen,  had  come  home  with  fifteen  for  five  days' 
work.  She  could  scarcely  believe  the  evidence 
of  her  own  senses,  and  she  ceased  to  wonder 
that  he  talked  big. 

It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  when  the  widow 
and  her  son  went  to  bed,  so  deeply  were  they 
interested  in  discussing  our  hero's  affairs.  He 
had  intended  to  call  upon  Squire  Lee  that 
night,  but  the  time  passed  away  so  rapidly  that 
he  was  obliged  to  defer  it  till  the  next  day. 

After  breakfast  the  following  morning,  he 
hastened  to  pay  the  intended  visit.  There  was 
a  tumult  of  strange  emotions  in  his  bosom  as 
he  knocked  at  the  squire's  door.  He  was 
proud  of  the  success  he  had  achieved,  and 
even  then  his  cheek  burned  under  the  antici 
pated  commendations  which  his  generous  friend 
would  bestow  upon  him.  Besides,  Annie  would 
be  glad  to  see  him,  for  she  had  expressed  such 
a  desire  when  they  parted  on  the  Monday  pre 
ceding.  I  don't  think  that  Bobby  cherished 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      155 

any  silly  ideas,  but  the  sympathy  of  the  little 
maiden  fell  not  coldly  or  unwelconiely  upon 
his  warm  heart.  In  coming  from  the  house  he 
had  placed  his  copy  of  "The  Wayfarer"  under 
his  arm,  for  Annie  was  fond  of  reading;  and 
on  the  way  over,  he  had  pictured  to  himself 
the  pleasure  she  would  derive  from  reading  his 
book. 

Of  course  he  received  a  warm  welcome  from 
the  squire  and  his  daughter.  Each  of  them 
had  bestowed  more  than  a  thought  upon  the 
little  wanderer  as  he  went  from  house  to 
house,  and  more  than  once  they  had  conversed 
together  about  him. 

"Well,  Bobby,  how  is  trade  in  the  book 
line?"  asked  the  squire,  after  the  young  pil 
grim  had  been  cordially  greeted. 

"  Pretty  fair,"  replied  Bobby,  with  as  much 
indifference  as  he  could  command,  though  it  was 
hard  even  to  seem  indifferent  then  and  there. 

"  Where  have  you  been  travelling  ?  " 

«In  B ." 


156  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"Fine  place.     Books  sell  well  there?" 

"Very  well;  in  fact,  I  sold  out  all  my  stock 
by  noon  yesterday." 

"How  many  books  did  you  carry?" 

"Fifty." 

"You  did  well." 

"I  should  think  you  did!"  added  Annie,  with 
an  enthusiasm  which  quite  upset  all  Bobby's 
assumed  indifference.  "  Fifty  books ! " 

"Yes,  Miss  Annie;  and  I  have  brought  you  a 
copy  of  the  book  I  have  been  selling ;  I  thought 
you  would  like  to  read  it.  It  is  a  splendid 
work,  and  will  be  the  book  of  the  season." 

"I  shall  be  delighted  to  read  it,"  replied 
Annie,  taking  the  proffered  volume.  "  It  looks 
real  good,"  she  continued,  as  she  turned  over 
the  leaves. 

"  It  is  first  rate ;  I  have  read  it  through." 

"It  was  very  kind  of  you  to  think  of  me 
when  you  have  so  much  business  on  your 
mind,"  added  she,  with  a  roguish  smile. 

"I    shall    never    have    so    much    business    on 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      157 

my  mind  that  I  cannot  think  of  my  friends," 
replied  Bobby,  so  gallantly  and  so  smartly  that 
it  astonished  himself. 

"I  was  just  thinking  what  I  should  read 
next ;  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come." 

"Never  mind  her,  Bobby;  all  she  wanted 
was  the  book,"  interposed  Squire  Lee,  laughing. 

"  Now,  pa !  " 

"Then  I  shall  bring  her  one  very  often." 

"You  are  too  bad,  pa,"  said  Annie,  who,  like 
most  young  ladies  just  entering  their  teens, 
resented  any  imputation  upon  the  immaculate- 
ness  of  human  love,  or  human  friendship. 

"I  have  got  a  little  money  for  you,  Squire 
Lee,"  continued  Bobby,  thinking  it  time  the 
subject  was  changed. 

He  took  out  his  gilded  memorandum  book, 
whose  elegant  appearance  rather  startled  the 
squire,  and  from  its  "treasury  department"  ex 
tracted  the  little  roll  of  bills,  representing  an 
aggregate  of  ten  dollars,  which  he  had  carefully 
reserved  for  his  creditor. 


158  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"Never  mind  that,  Bobby,"  replied  the  squire. 
"  You  will  want  all  your  capital  to  do  business 
with." 

"I  must  pay  my  debts  before  I  think  of  any 
thing  else." 

"A  very  good  plan,  Bobby,  but  this  is  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule." 

"No,  sir,  I  think  not.  If  you  please,  I  insist 
upon  paying  you  ten  dollars  on  my  note." 

"  O,  well,  if  you  insist,  I  suppose  I  can't  help 
myself." 

"I  would  rather  pay  it,  I  shall  feel  so  much 
better." 

"You  want  to  indorse  it  on  the  note,  I 
suppose." 

That  was  just  what  Bobby  wanted.  Indorsed 
on  the  note  was  the  idea,  and  our  hero  had 
often  passed  that  expression  through  his  mind. 
There  was  something  gratifying  in  the  act  to 
a  man  of  business  integrity  like  himself;  it  was 
discharging  a  sacred  obligation,  —  he  had  already 
come  to  deem  it  a  sacred  duty  to  pay  one's 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      159 

debts,  —  and  as  the  squire  wrote  the  indorse 
ment  across  the  back  of  the  note,  he  felt  more 
like  a  hero  than  ever  before. 

"'Pay  as  you  go'  is  an  excellent  idea;  John 
Randolph  called  it  the  philosopher's  stone," 
added  Squire  Lee,  as  he  returned  the  note  to 
his  pocket  book. 

"That  is  what  I  mean  to  do  just  as  soon  as 
I  can." 

"You  will  do,  Bobby." 

The  young  merchant  spent  nearly  the  whole 
forenoon  at  the  squire's,  and  declined  an  invita 
tion  to  dinner  only  on  the  plea  that  his  mother 
would  wait  for  him. 


160  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 


CHAPTER  XIII 

IN     WHICH    BOBBY    DECLINES   A    COPARTNERSHIP 
AND   VISITS   B AGAIN 

AFTER  dinner  Bobby  performed  his  Saturday 
afternoon  chores  as  usual.  He  split  wood 
enough  to  last  for  a  week,  so  that  his  mother 
might  not  miss  him  too  much,  and  then,  feeling 
a  desire  to  visit  his  favorite  resorts  in  the 
vicinity,  he  concluded  to  go  a  fishing.  The  day 
was  favorable,  the  sky  being  overcast  and  the 
wind  very  light.  After  digging  a  little  box  of 
worms  in  the  garden  back  of  the  house,  he 
shouldered  his  fish  pole;  and  certainly  no  one 
would  have  suspected  that  he  was  a  distin 
guished  travelling  merchant.  He  was  fond  of 
fishing,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that 
Daniel  Webster,  and  many  other  famous  men, 
have  manifested  a  decided  passion  for  this  ex 
citing  sport.  No  doubt  a  fondness  for  angling 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      161 

is  a  peculiarity  of  genius;  and  if  being  an 
expert  fisherman  makes  a  great  man,  then  our 
hero  was  a  great  man. 

He  had  scarcely  seated  himself  on  his  favorite 
rock,  and  dropped  his  line  into  the  water,  before 
he  saw  Tom  Spicer  approaching  the  spot.  The 
bully  had  never  been  a  welcome  companion. 
There  was  no  sympathy  between  them.  They 
could  never  agree,  for  their  views,  opinions,  and 
tastes  were  always  conflicting. 

Bobby  had  not  seen  Tom  since  he  left  him 
to  crawl  out  of  the  ditch  on  the  preceding 
week,  and  he  had  good  reason  to  believe  that 
he  should  not  be  regarded  with  much  favor. 
Tom  was  malicious  and  revengeful,  and  our 
hero  was  satisfied  that  the  blow  which  had  pros 
trated  him  in  the  ditch  would  not  be  forgotten 
till  it  had  been  atoned  for.  He  was  prepared, 
therefore,  for  any  disagreeable  scene  which 
might  occur. 

There  was  another  circumstance  also  which 
rendered  the  bully's  presence  decidedly  unpleas- 


162  NOW  OB  NEVER;   OR, 

ant  at  this  time,  —  an  event  that  had  occurred 
during  his  absence,  the  particulars  of  which  he 
had  received  from  his  mother. 

Tom's  father,  who  was  a  poor  man,  and  ad 
dicted  to  intemperance,  had  lost  ten  dollars. 
He  had  brought  it  home,  and,  as  he  affirmed, 
placed  it  in  one  of  the  bureau  drawers.  The 
next  day  it  could  not  be  found.  Spicer,  for 
some  reason,  was  satisfied  that  Tom  had  taken 
it;  but  the  boy  stoutly  and  persistently  denied 
it.  No  money  was  found  upon  him,  however, 
and  it  did  not  appear  that  he  had  spent  any  at 
the  stores  in  Riverdale  Centre. 

The  affair  created  some  excitement  in  the 
vicinity,  for  Spicer  made  no  secret  of  his  sus 
picions,  and  publicly  accused  Tom  of  the  theft. 
He  did  not  get  much  sympathy  from  any  except 
his  pot  companions ;  for  there  was  no  evidence 
but  his  bare  and  unsupported  statement  to  sub 
stantiate  the  grave  accusation.  Tom  had  been 
in  the  room  when  the  money  was  placed  in  the 
drawer,  and,  as  his  father  asserted,  had  watched 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      163 

him  closely,  while  he  deposited  the  bills  under 
the  clothing.  No  one  else  could  have  taken  it. 
These  were  the  proofs.  But  people  generally 
believed  that  Spicer  had  carried  no  money  home, 
especially  as  it  was  known  that  he  was  intoxi 
cated  on  the  night  in  question;  and  that  the 
alleged  theft  was  only  a  ruse  to  satisfy  certain 
importunate  creditors. 

Everybody  knew  that  Tom  was  bad  enough 
to  steal,  even  from  his  father;  from  which  my 
readers  can  understand  that  it  is  an  excellent 
thing  to  have  a  good  reputation.  Bobby  knew 
that  he  would  lie  and  use  profane  language; 
that  he  spent  his  Sundays  by  the  river,  or  in 
roaming  through  the  woods;  and  that  he  played 
truant  from  school  as  often  as  the  fear  of  the 
rod  would  permit;  and  the  boy  that  would  do 
all  these  things  certainly  would  steal  if  he  got 
a  good  chance.  Our  hero's  judgment,  therefore, 
of  the  case  was  not  favorable  to  the  bully,  and 
he  would  have  thanked  him  to  stay  away  from 
the  river  while  he  was  there. 


164  NOW  OB  NEVER  ;   Ofl, 

"  Hallo,  Bob !  How  are  you  ?  "  shouted  Tom, 
when  he  had  come  within  hailing  distance. 

"Very  well,"  replied  Bobby,  rather  coolly. 

"Been  to  Boston,  they  say." 

"  Yes." 

"Well,  how  did  you  like  it?"  continued  Tom, 
as  he  seated  himself  on  the  rock  near  our  hero. 

"First  rate." 

"  Been  to  work  there  ?  " 

"No." 

"What  have  you  been  doing?" 

"Travelling  about." 

"What  doing?" 

"Selling  books." 

"Was  you,  though?     Did  you  sell  any?" 

"  Yes,  a  few." 

"How  many?" 

"O,  about  fifty." 

"You  didn't,  though  —  did  you?  How  much 
did  you  make?" 

"About  fifteen  dollars." 

"  By    jolly !     You    are    a    smart    one,    Bobby. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      165 

There  are  not  many  fellows  that  would  have 
done  that." 

"Easy  enough,"  replied  Bobby,  who  was  not 
a  little  surprised  at  this  warm  commendation 
from  one  whom  he  regarded  as  his  enemy. 

"You  had  to  buy  the  books  first  —  didn't 
you?"  asked  Tom,  who  began  to  manifest  a 
deep  interest  in  the  trade. 

"Of  course;  no  one  will  give  you  the  books." 

"What  do  you  pay  for  them  ?" 

"  I  buy  them  so  as  to  make  a  profit  on  them," 
answered  Bobby,  who,  like  a  discreet  merchant, 
was  not  disposed  to  be  too  communicative. 

"  That  business  would  suit  me  first  rate." 

"It  is  pretty  hard  work." 

"I  don't  care  for  that.  Don't  you  believe  I 
could  do  something  in  this  line?" 

"I  don't  know;  perhaps  you  could." 

"  Why  not,  as  well  as  you  ?  " 

This  was  a  hard  question;  and,  as  Bobby  did 
not  wish  to  be  uncivil,  he  talked  about  a  big 
pout  he  hauled  in  at  that  moment,  instead  of 


166  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

answering  it.  He  was  politic,  and  deprecated 
the  anger  of  the  bully;  so,  though  Tom  plied 
him  pretty  hard,  he  did  not  receive  much  satis 
faction. 

"  You  see,  Tom,"  said  he,  when  he  found  that 
his  companion  insisted  upon  knowing  the  cost 
of  the  books,  "this  is  a  publisher's  secret;  and 
I  dare  say  they  would  not  wish  every  one  to 
know  the  cost  of  books.  We  sell  them  for  a 
dollar  apiece." 

"Humph!  You  needn't  be  so  close  about  it. 
I'll  bet  I  can  find  out."  • 

"  I  have  no  doubt  you  can ;  only,  you  see,  I 
don't  want  to  tell  what  I  am  not  sure  they 
would  be  willing  I  should  tell." 

Tom  took  a  slate  pencil  from  his  pocket,  and 
commenced  ciphering  on  the  smooth  rock  upon 
which  he  sat. 

"You  say  you  sold  fifty  books?" 

"  Yes." 

"Well;  if  you  made  fifteen  dollars  out  of 
fifty,  that  is  thirty  cents  apiece." 


167 

Bobby  was  a  little  mortified  when  he  per 
ceived  that  he  had  unwittingly  exposed  the 
momentous  secret.  He  had  not  given  Tom 
credit  for  so  much  sagacity  as  he  had  displayed 
in  his  inquiries ;  and  as  he  had  fairly  reached 
his  conclusion,  he  was  willing  he  should  have 
the  benefit  of  it. 

"  You  sold  them  at  .  a  dollar  apiece.  Thirty 
from  a  hundred  leaves  seventy.  They  cost  you 
seventy  cents  each  —  didn't  they  ?  " 

"Sixty-seven,"  replied  Bobby,  yielding  the 
point. 

"Enough  said,  Bob;  I  am  going  into  that 
business,  anyhow." 

"I  am  willing." 

"  Of  course  you  are ;  suppose  we  go  together," 
suggested  Tom,  who  had  not  used  all  this  con 
ciliation  without  having  a  purpose  in  view. 

"We  could  do  nothing  together." 

"I  should  like  to  get  out  with  you  just  once, 
only  to  see  how  it  is  done." 

"  You  can  find  out  for  yourself,  as  I  did." 


168  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"Don't  be  mean,  Bob." 

"Mean?     I  am  not  mean." 

"  I  don't  say  you  are.  We  have  always  been 
good  friends,  you  know." 

Bobby  did  not  know  it;  so  he  looked  at  the 
other  with  a  smile  which  expressed  all  he  meant 
to  say. 

"You  hit  me  a  smart  dig  the  other  day,  I 
know;  but  I  don't  mind  that.  I  was  in  the 
wrong  then,  and  I  am  willing  to  own  it,"  con 
tinued  Tom,  with  an  appearance  of  humility. 

This  was  an  immense  concession  for  Tom  to 
make,  and  Bobby  was  duly  affected  by  it. 
Probably  it  was  the  first  time  the  bully  had 
ever  owned  he  was  in  the  wrong. 

"The  fact  is,  Bob,  I  always  liked  you;  and 
you  know  I  licked  Ben  Dowse  for  you." 

"  That  was  two  for  yourself  and  one  for  me ; 
besides,  I  didn't  want  Ben  thrashed." 

"  But  he  deserved  it.  Didn't  he  tell  the  mas 
ter  you  were  whispering  in  school?" 

"I  was  whispering;   so  .he  told  the  truth." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      169 

"  It  was  mean  to  blow  on   a   fellow,  though." 

"  The  master  asked  him  if  I  whispered  to 
him;  of  course  he  ought  not  to  lie  about  it. 
But  he  told  of  you  at  the  same  time." 

"  I  know  it ;  but  I  wouldn't  have  licked  him 
on  my  own  account." 

'•'•Perhaps  you  wouldn't." 

"I  know  I  wouldn't.  But,  I  say,  Bobby, 
where  do  you  buy  your  books?" 

"  At  Mr.  Bayard's,  in  Washington  Street." 

"  He  will  sell  them  to  me  at  the  same  price  — 
won't  he?" 

"I  don't  know." 

"When  are  you  going  again?" 

"  Monday." 

"Won't  you  let  me  go  with  you,  Bob?" 

"Let  you?  Of  course  you  can  go  where  you 
please  ;  it  is  none  of  my  business." 

Bobby  did  not  like  the  idea  of  having  such 
a  copartner  as  Tom  Spicer,  and  he  did  not  like 
to  tell  him  so.  If  he  did,  he  would  have  to 
give  his  reasons  for  declining  the  proposition, 


170  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

and  that  would  make  Tom  mad,  and  perhaps 
provoke  him  to  quarrel. 

The  fish  bit  well,  and  in  an  hour's  time 
Bobby  had  a  mess.  As  he  took  his  basket 
and  walked  home,  the  young  ruffian  followed 
him.  He  could  not  get  rid  of  him  till  he 
reached  the  gate  in  front  of  the  little  black 
house;  and  even  there  Tom  begged  him  to 
stop  a  few  moments.  Our  hero  was  in  a  hurry, 
and  in  the  easiest  manner  possible  got  rid  of 
this  aspirant  for  mercantile  honors. 

We  have  no  doubt  a  journal  of  Bobby's  daily 
life  would  be  very  interesting  to  our  young 
readers;  but  the  fact  that  some  of  his  most 
stirring  adventures  are  yet  to  be  related  ad 
monishes  us  to  hasten  forward  more  rapidly. 

On  Monday  morning  Bobby  bade  adieu  to 
his  mother  again,  and  started  for  Boston.  He 
fully  expected  to  encounter  Tom  on  the  way, 
who,  he  was  afraid,  would  persist  in  accompany 
ing  him  on  his  tour.  As  before,  he  stopped  at 
Squire  Lee's  to  bid  him  and  Annie  good  by. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      171 

The  little  maiden  had  read  "The  Wayfarer* 
more  than  half  through,  and  was  very  enthusi 
astic  in  her  expression  of  the  pleasure  she  de 
rived  from  it.  She  promised  to  send  it  over 
to  his  house  when  she  had  finished  it,  and  hoped 
he  would  bring  his  stock  to  Riverdale,  so  that 
she  might  again  replenish  her  library.  Bobby 
thought  of  something  just  then,  and  the  thought 
brought  forth  a  harvest  on  the  following  Satur 
day,  when  he  returned. 

When  he  had  shaken  hands  with  the  squire 
and  was  about  to  depart,  he  received  a  piece 
of  news  which  gave  him  food  for  an  hour's 
serious  reflection. 

"Did  you  hear  about  Tom  Spicer?"  asked 
Squire  Lee. 

"No,  sir;  what  about  him?" 

"  Broken  his  arm." 

"Broken  his  arm!  Gracious!  How  did  it 
happen?"  exclaimed  Bobby,  the  more  astonished 
because  he  had  been  thinking  of  Tom  since  he 
had  left  home. 


172  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"  He  was  out  in  the  woods  yesterday,  where 
boys  should  not  be  on  Sundays,  and,  in  climb 
ing  a  tree  after  a  bird's  nest,  he  fell  to  the 
ground." 

"I  am  sorry  for  him,"  replied  Bobby,  mus 
ing. 

"So  am  I;  but  if  he  had  been  at  home,  or 
at  church,  where  he  should  have  been,  it  would 
not  have  happened.  If  I  had  any  boys,  I  would 
lock  them  up  in  their  chambers  if  I  could  not 
keep  them  at  home  Sundays." 

"  Poor  Tom  I "  mused  Bobby,  recalling  the 
conversation  he  had  had  with  him  on  Satur 
day,  and  then  wishing  that  he  had  been  a  little 
more  pliant  with  him. 

"It  is  too  bad;  but  I  must  say  I  am  more 
sorry  for  his  poor  mother  than  I  am  for  him," 
added  the  squire.  "However,  I  hope  it  will  do 
him  good,  and  be  a  lesson  he  will  remember  as 
long  as  he  lives." 

Bobby  bade  the  squire  and  Annie  adieu  again, 
and  resumed  his  journey  towards  the  railroad 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  B EIGHT      173 

station.  His  thoughts  were  busy  with  Tom 
Spicer's  case.  The  reason  why  he  had  not 
joined  him,  as  he  expected  and  feared  he  would, 
was  now  apparent.  He  pitied  him,  for  he  real 
ized  that  he  must  endure  a  great  deal  of  pain 
before  he  could  again  go  out ;  but  he  finally  dis 
missed  the  matter  with  the  squire's  sage  reflec 
tion,  that  he  hoped  the  calamity  would  be  a 
good  lesson  to  him. 

The  young  merchant  did  not  walk  to  Boston 
this  time,  for  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that,  in  the  six  hours  it  would  take  him  to 
travel  to  the  city  on  foot,  the  profit  on  the 
books  he  could  sell  would  be  more  than  enough 
to  pay  his  fare,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fatigue 
and  the  expense  of  shoe  leather. 

Before  noon  he  was  at  B again,  as  busy 

as  ever  in  driving  his  business.  The  experience 
of  the  former  week  was  of  great  value  to  him. 
He  visited  people  belonging  to  all  spheres  in 
society,  and,  though  he  was  occasionally  re 
pulsed  or  treated  with  incivility,  he  was  not 


174  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OJR, 

conscious  in  a  single  instance  of  offending  any 
person's  sense  of  propriety. 

He  was  not  as  fortunate  as  during  tlap  pre 
vious  week,  and  it  was  Saturday  noon  before 
he  had  sold  out  the  sixty  books  he  carried 
with  him.  The  net  profit  for  this  week  was 
fourteen  dollars,  with  which  he  was  abundantly 
pleased. 

Mr.  Bayard  again  commended  him  in  the 
warmest  terms  for  his  zeal  and  promptness. 
Mr.  Timmins  was  even  more  civil  than  the 
last  time,  and  when  Bobby  asked  the  price  of 
Moore's  Poems,  he  actually  offered  to  sell  it 
to  him  for  thirty-three  per  cent  less  than  the 
retail  price.  The  little  merchant  was  on  the 
point  of  purchasing  it,  when  Mr.  Bayard  inquired 
what  he  wanted. 

"I  am  going  to  buy  this  book,"  replied 
Bobby. 

"Moore's  Poems?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Bayard   took  from  a  glass   case   an   ele- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      175 

gantly  bound  copy  of  the  same  work  —  morocco, 
full  gilt  —  and  handed  it  to  our  hero. 

"I  shall  make  you  a  present  of  this.  Are 
you  an  admirer  of  Moore?" 

"No,  sir;  not  exactly  —  that  is,  I  don't  know 
much  about  it;  but  Annie  Lee  does,  and  I  want 
to  get  the  book  for  her." 

Bobby's  cheeks  reddened  as  he  turned  the 
leaves  of  the  beautiful  volume,  putting  his  head 
down  to  the  page  to  hide  his  confusion. 

"Annie  Lee?"  said  Mr.  Bayard  with  a  quiz 
zing  smile.  "I  see  how  it  is.  Rather  young, 
Bobby." 

"Her  father  has  been  very  good  to  me  and 
to  my  mother;  and  so  has  Annie,  for  that  mat 
ter.  Squire  Lee  would  be  a  great  deal  more 
pleased  if  I  should  make  Annie  a  present  than 
if  I  made  him  one.  I  feel  grateful  to  him,  and 
I  want  to  let  it  out  somehow." 

"  That's  right,  Bobby ;  always  remember  your 
friends.  Timmins,  wrap  up  this  book." 

Bobby  protested  with  all  his  might;   but  the 


176  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

bookseller  insisted  that  he  should  give  Annie 
this  beautiful  edition,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
yield  the  point. 

That  evening  he  was  at  the  little  black  house 
again,  and  his  mother  examined  his  ledger  with 
a  great  deal  of  pride  and  satisfaction.  That 
evening,  too,  another  ten  dollars  was  indorsed 
on  the  note,  and  Annie  received  that  elegant 
copy  of  Moore's  Poems. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      177 


CHAPTER  XIV 
IN  WHICH  BOBBY'S  AIR  CASTLE  is  UPSET  AND 

TOM  SPICER  TAKES  TO  THE  WOODS 

DURING  the  next  four  weeks  Bobby  visited 
various  places  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston ;  and  at 
the  end  of  that  time  he  had  paid  the  whole  of 
the  debt  he  owed  Squire  Lee.  He  had  the  note 
in  his  memorandum  book,  and  the  fact  that  he 
had  achieved  his  first  great  purpose  afforded 
him  much  satisfaction.  Now  he  owed  no  man 
anything,  and  he  felt  as  though  he  could  hold 
up  his  head  among  the  best  people  in  the  world. 

The  little  black  house  was  paid  for,  and  "Bobby 
was  proud  that  his  own  exertions  had  released 
his  mother  from  her  obligation  to  her  hard 
creditor.  Mr.  Hardhand  could  no  longer  insult 
and  abuse  her. 

The  apparent  results  which  Bobby  had  accom 
plished,  however,  were  as  nothing  compared  with 


178  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

the  real  results.  He  had  developed  those  en 
ergies  of  character  which  were  to  make  him,  not 
only  a  great  business  man,  but  a  useful  member 
of  society.  Besides,  there  was  a  moral  grandeur 
in  his  humble  achievements  which  was  more 
worthy  of  consideration  than  the  mere  worldly 
success  he  had  obtained.  Motives  determine  the 
character  of  deeds.  That  a  boy  of  thirteen 
should  display  so  much  enterprise  and  energy 
was  a  great  thing;  but  that  it  should  be  dis 
played  from  pure,  unselfish  devotion  to  his 
mother  was  a  vastly  greater  thing.  Many  great 
achievements  are  morally  insignificant,  while 
many  of  which  the  world  never  hears  mark  the 
true  hero. 

Our  hero  was  not  satisfied  with  what  he  had 
done,  and  far  from  relinquishing  his  interesting 
and  profitable  employment,  his  ambition  sug 
gested  new  and  wider  fields  of  success.  As 
one  ideal,  brilliant  and  glorious  in  its  time,  was 
reached,  another  more  brilliant  and  more  glori 
ous  presented  itself,  and  demanded  to  be  achieved. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      179 

The  little  black  house  began  to  appear  rusty 
and  inconvenient;  a  coat  of  white  paint  would 
marvellously  improve  its  appearance ;  a  set  of 
nice  Paris-green  blinds  would  make  a  palace  of 
it;  and  a  neat  fence  around  it  would  positively 
transform  the  place  into  a  paradise.  Yet  Bobby 
was  audacious  enough  to  think  of  these  things, 
and  even  to  promise  himself  that  they  should 
be  obtained. 

In  conversation  with  Mr.  Bayard  a  few  days 
before,  that  gentleman  had  suggested  a  new  field 
of  labor;  and  it  had  been  arranged  that  Bobby 
should  visit  the  State  of  Maine  the  following 
week.  On  the  banks  of  the  Kennebec  were  many 
wealthy  and  important  towns,  where  the  intelli 
gence  of  the  people  created  a  demand  for  books. 
This  time  the  little  merchant  was  to  take  two 
hundred  books,  and  be  absent  until  they  were  all 
sold. 

On  Monday  morning  he  started  bright  and  early 
for  the  railroad  station.  As  usual,  he  called  upon 
Squire  Lee,  and  informed  Annie  that  he  should 


180  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

probably  be  absent  three  or  four  weeks.  She 
hoped  no  accident  would  happen  to  him,  and 
that  his  journey  would  be  crowned  with  success. 
Without  being  sentimental,  she  was  a  little  sad, 
for  Bobby  was  a  great  friend  of  hers.  That 
elegant  copy  of  Moore's  Poems  had  been  grate 
fully  received,  and  she  was  so  fond  of  the  bard's 
beautiful  and  touching  melodies  that  she  could 
never  read  any  of  them  without  thinking  of  the 
brave  little  fellow  who  had  given  her  the  volume  ; 
which  no  one  will  consider  very  remarkable,  even 
in  a  little  miss  of  twelve. 

After  he  had  bidden  her  and  her  father  adieu, 
he  resumed  his  journey.  Of  course  he  was  think 
ing  with  all  his  might ;  but  no  one  need  suppose 
he  was  wondering  how  wide  the  Kennebec  River 
was,  or  how  many  books  he  should  sell  in  the 
towns  upon  its  banks.  Nothing  of  the  kind; 
though  it  is  enough  even  for  the  inquisitive  to 
know  that  he  was  thinking  of  something,  and 
that  his  thoughts  were  very  interesting,  not  to 
say  romantic. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      181 

"  Hallo,  Bob ! "  shouted  some  one  from  the 
road  side. 

Bobby  was  provoked ;  for  it  is  sometimes  very 
uncomfortable  to  have  a  pleasant  train  of  thought 
interrupted.  The  imagination  is  buoyant,  ethe 
real,  and  elevates  poor  mortals  up  to  the  stars 
sometimes.  It  was  so  with  Bobby.  He  was 
building  up  some  kind  of  an  air  castle,-and  had 
got  up  in  the  clouds  amidst  the  fog  and  moon 
shine,  and  that  aggravating  voice  brought  him 
down,  slap,  upon  terra  firma. 

He  looked  up  and  saw  Tom-  Spicer  seated  upon 
the  fence.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  bundle,  and  had 
evidently  been  waiting  some  time  for  Bobby's 
coming. 

He  had  recovered  from  the  illness  caused  by 
his  broken  arm,  and  people  said  it  had  been  a 
good  lesson  for  him,  as  the  squire  hoped  it  would 
be.  Bobby  had  called  upon  him  two  or  three 
times  during  his  confinement  to  the  house ;  and 
Tom,  either  truly  repentant  for  his  past  errors,  or 
lacking  the  opportunity  at  that  time  to  manifest 


182  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OB, 

his  evil  propensities,  had  stoutly  protested  that  he 
had  "  turned  over  a  new  leaf,"  and  meant  to  keep 
out  of  the  woods  on  Sunday,  stop  lying  and 
swearing,  and  become  a  good  boy. 

Bobby  commended  his  good  resolutions,  and 
told  him  he  would  never  want  friends  while  he 
was  true  to  himself.  The  right  side,  he  declared, 
was  always  the  best  side.  He  quoted  several 
instances  of  men,  whose  lives  he  had  read  in  his 
Sunday  school  books,  to  show  how  happy  a  good 
man  may  be  in  prison,  or  when  all  the  world 
seemed  to  forsake  him. 

Tom  assured  him  that  he  meant  to  reform  and 
be  a  good  boy;  and  Bobby  told  him  that  when 
any  one  meant  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf,  it  was 
"  now  or  never."  If  he  put  it  off,  he  would  only 
grow  worse,  and  the  longer  the  good  work  was 
delayed,  the  more  difficult  it  would  be  to  do  it. 
Tom  agreed  to  all  this,  and  was  sure  he  had 
reformed. 

For  these  reasons  Bobby  had  come  to  regard 
Tom  with  a  feeling  of  deep  interest.  He  consid- 


ered  him  as,  in  some  measure,  his  disciple,  and  he 
felt  a  personal  responsibility  in  encouraging  him 
to  persevere  in  his  good  work.  Nevertheless 
Bobby  was  not  exactly  pleased  to  have  his  fine  air 
castle  upset,  and  to  be  tipped  out  of  the  clouds 
upon  the  cold,  uricompromising  earth  again;  so 
the  first  greeting  he  gave  Tom  was  not  as  cordial 
as  it  might  have  been. 

"  Hallo,  Tom  1 "  he  replied,  rather  coolly. 

"Been  waiting  for  you  this  half  hour." 

"Have  you?" 

"Yes;  ain't  you  rather  late?" 

"No;  I  have  plenty  of  time,  though  none  to 
spare,"  answered  Bobby ;  and  this  was  a  hint  that 
he  must  not  detain  him  too  long. 

"Come  along  then." 

"  Where  are  you  going,  Tom?"  asked  Bobby,  a 
little  surprised  at  these  words. 

"To  Boston." 

"Are  you?" 

"I  am;  that's  a  fact.  You  know  I  spoke  to 
you  about  going  into  the  book  business." 


184  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"Not  lately." 

"But  I  have  been  thinking  about  it  all  the 
time." 

"  What  do  your  father  and  mother  say  ? " 

"O,  they  are  all  right." 

"Have  you  asked  them?" 

"Certainly  I  have;  they  are  willing  I  should 
go  with  yow." 

"Why  didn't  you  speak  of  it  then?" 

"I  thought  I  wouldn't  say  anything  till  the 
time  came.  You  know  you  fought  shy  when  I 
spoke  about  it  before." 

And  Bobby,  notwithstanding  the  interest  he 
felt  in  his  companion,  was  a  little  disposed  to 
"  fight  shy "  now.  Tom  had  reformed,  or  had 
pretended  to  do  so ;  but  he  was  still  a  raw 
recruit,  and  our  hero  was  somewhat  fearful  that 
he  would  run  at  the  first  fire. 

To  the  good  and  true  man  life  is  a  con 
stant  battle.  Temptation  assails  him  at  almost 
every  point;  perils  and  snares  beset  him  at 
every  step  of  his  mortal  pilgrimage,  so  that 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  SOB  BY  BRIGHT      185 

every  day  he  is  called  upon  to  gird  on  his  armor 
and  fight  the  good  fight. 

Bobby  was  no  poet;  but  he  had  a  good  idea 
of  this  every-day  strife  with  the  foes  of  error 
and  sin  that  crossed  his  path.  It  was  a  practi 
cal  conception,  but  it  was  truly  expressed  under 
the  similitude  of  a  battle.  There  was  to  be  re 
sistance,  and  he  could  comprehend  that,  for  his 
bump  of  combativeness  took  cognizance  of  the 
suggestion.  He  was  to  fight ;  and  that  was  an 
idea  that  stood  him  in  better  stead  than  a  whole 
library  of  ethical  subtilties. 

Judging  Tom  by  his  own  standard,  he  was 
afraid  he  would  run  —  that  he  wouldn't  "  stand 
fire."  He  had  not  been  drilled.  Heretofore, 
when  temptation  beset  him,  he  had  yielded 
without  even  a  struggle,  and  fled  from  the 
field  without  firing  a  gun.  To  go  out  into  the 
great  world  was  a  trying  event  for  the  raw 
recruit.  He  lacked,  too,  that  prestige  of  success 
which  is  worth  more  than  numbers  on  the  field 
of  battle. 


186  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OE, 

Tom  had  chosen  for  himself,  and  he  could 
not  send  him  back.  He  had  taken  up  the  line 
of  march,  let  it  lead  him  where  it  might. 

"  March  on  1  in  legions  death  and  sin 

Impatient  wait  thy  conquering  hand ; 
The  foe  without,  the  foe  within  — 
Thy  youthful  arm  must  both  withstand." 

Bobby  had  great  hopes  of  him.  He  felt  that 
he  could  not  well  get  rid  of  him,  and  he  saw 
that  it  was  policy  for  him  to  make  the  best  of  it. 

"  Well,  Tom,  where  are  you  going  ? "  asked 
Bobby,  after  he  had  made  up  his  mind  not  to 
object  to  the  companionship  of  the  other. 

"  I  don't  know.  You  have  been  a  good  friend 
to  me  lately,  and  I  had  an  idea  that  you  would 
give  me  a  lift  in  this  business." 

"  I  should  be  very  willing  to  do  so ;  but  what 
can  I  do  for  you?" 

"  Just  show  me  how  the  business  is  done ; 
that's  all  I  want." 

"Your  father  and  mother  were  willing  you 
should  come  —  were  they  not?" 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      187 

Bobby  had  some  doubts  about  this  point,  and 
with  good  reason  too.  He  had  called  at  Tom's 
house  the  day  before,  and  they  had  gone  to 
church  together;  but  neither  he  nor  his  parents 
had  said  a  word  about  his  going  to  Boston. 

"When  did  they  agree  to  it?" 

"Last  night,"  replied  Tom,  after  a  moment's 
hesitation. 

"All  right  then;  but  I  cannot  promise  you 
that  Mr.  Bayard  will  let  you  have  the  books." 

"  I  can  fix  that,  I  reckon,"  replied  Tom,  con 
fidently. 

"I  will  speak  a  good  word  for  you,  at  any 
rate." 

"  That's  right,  Bob." 

"I  am  going  down  into  the  State  of  Maine 
this  time,  and  shall  be  gone  three  or  four 
weeks." 

"So  much  the  better;  I  always  wanted  to  go 
down  that  way." 

Tom  asked  a  great  many  questions  about  the 
business  and  the  method  of  travelling,  which 


188  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Bobby's  superior  intelligence  and  more  extensive 
experience  enabled  him  to  answer  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  other. 

When  they  were  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
railroad  station,  they  heard  a  carriage  driven  at 
a  rapid  rate  approaching  them  from  the  direc 
tion  of  Riverdale. 

Tom  seemed  to  be  uneasy,  and  cast  frequent 
glances  behind  him.  In  a  moment  the  vehicle 
was  within  a  short  distance  of  them,  and  he 
stopped  short  in  the  road  to  scrutinize  the  per 
sons  in  it. 

"By  jolly!"   exclaimed   Tom;    "my   father!" 

"What  of  it?"  asked  Bobby,  surprised  by 
the  strange  behavior  of  his  companion. 

Tom  did  not  wait  to  reply,  but  springing  over 
the  fence  fled  like  a  deer  towards  some  woods 
a  short  distance  from  the  road. 

Was  it  possible?  Tom  had  run  away  from 
home.  His  father  had  not  consented  to  his  go 
ing  to  Boston,  and  Bobby  was  mortified  to  find 
that  his  hopeful  disciple  had  been  lying  to  him 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      189 

ever  since  they  left  Riverdale.  But  he  was 
glad  the  cheat  had  been  exposed. 

"That  was  Tom  with  you  —  wasn't  it?" 
asked  Mr.  Spicer,  as  he  stopped  the  foaming 
horse. 

"Yes,  sir;  but  he  told  me  you  had  consented 
that  he  should  go  with  me,"  replied  Bobby,  a 
little  disturbed  by  the  angry  glance  of  Mr. 
Spicer 's  fiery  eyes. 

"He  lied!  the  young  villain!  He  will  catch 
it  for  this." 

"I  would  not  have  let  him  come  with  me 
only  for  that.  I  asked  him  twice  over  if  you 
were  willing,  and  he  said  you  were." 

"You  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to 
believe  him,"  interposed  the  man  who  was  with 
Mr.  Spicer. 

Bobby  had  some  reason  for  believing  him. 
The  fact  that  Tom  had  reformed  ought  to  have 
entitled  him  to  some  consideration,  and  our  hero 
gave  him  the  full  benefit  of  the  declaration. 
To  have  explained  this  would  have  taken  more 


190  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

time  than  he  could  spare;  besides,  it  was  "a 
great  moral  question,"  whose  importance  Mr. 
Spicer  and  his  companion  would  not  be  likely 
to  apprehend;  so  he  made  a  short  story  of  it, 
and  resumed  his  walk,  thankful  that  he  had  got 
rid  of  Tom. 

Mr.  Spicer  and  his  friend,  after  fastening  the 
horse  to  th£  fence,  went  to  the  woods  in  search 
of  Tom. 

Bobby  reached  the  station  just  in  time  to 
take  the  cars,  and  in  a  moment  was  on  his  way 
to  the  city. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      191 


CHAPTER  XV 

IN    WHICH    BOBBY    GETS    INTO    A    SCEAPB,    AND 
TOM  SPICBR  TUKNS  UP  AGAIN 

BOBBY  had  a  poorer  opinion  of  human  nature 
than  ever  before.  It  seemed  almost  incredible 
to  him  that  words  so  fairly  spoken  as  those  of 
Tom  Spicer  could  be  false.  He  had  just  risen 
from  a  sick  bed,  where  he  had  had  an  oppor 
tunity  for  long  and  serious  reflection.  Tom  had 
promised  fairly,  and  Bobby  had  every  reason  to 
suppose  he  intended  to  be  a  good  boy.  But 
his  promises  had  been  lies.  He  had  never  in 
tended  to  reform,  at  least  not  since  he  had  got 
off  his  bed  of  pain.  He  was  mortified  and  dis 
heartened  at  the  failure  of  this  attempt  to  re 
store  him  to  himself. 

Like  a  great  many  older  and  wiser  persons 
than  himself,  he  was  prone  to  judge  the  whole 
human  family  by  a  single  individual.  He  did 


192  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

not  come  to  believe  that  every  man  was  a  rascal, 
but,  in  more  general  terms,  that  there  is  a  great 
deal  more  rascality  in  this  world  than  one  would 
be  willing  to  believe. 

With  this  sage  reflection,  he  dismissed  Tom 
from  his  mind,  which  very  naturally  turned 
again  to  the  air  castle  which  had  been  so  ruth 
lessly  upset.  Then  his  opinion  of  "  the  rest  of 
mankind "  was  reversed ;  and  he  reflected  that 
if  the  world  were  only  peopled  by  angels  like 
Annie  Lee,  what  a  pleasant  place  it  would  be 
to  live  in.  She  could  not  tell  a  lie,  she  could 
not  use  bad  language,  she  could  not  steal,  or 
do  anything  else  that  was  bad ;  and  the  pros 
pect  was  decidedly  pleasant.  It  was  very  agree 
able  to  turn  from  Tom  to  Annie,  and  in  a 
moment  his  air  castle  was  built  again,  and 
throned  on  clouds  of  gold  and  purple.  I  do  not 
know  what  impossible  things  he  imagined,  or 
how  far  up  in  the  clouds  he  would  have  gone, 
if  the  arrival  of  the  train  at  the  city  had  not 
interrupted  his  thoughts,  and  pitched  him  down 
upon  the  earth  again. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT 

Bobby  was  not  one  of  that  impracticable 
class  of  persons  who  do  nothing  but  dream ;  for 
he  felt  that  he  had  a  mission  to  perform  which 
dreaming  could  not  accomplish.  However  pleas 
ant  it  may  be  to  think  of  the  great  and  brilliant 
things  which  one  will  do,  to  one  of  Bobby's 
practical  character  it  was  even  more  pleasant 
to  perform  them.  We  all  dream  great  things, 
imagine  great  things ;  but  he  who  stops  there 
does  not  amount  to  much,  and  the  world  can 
well  spare  him,  for  he  is  nothing  but  a  drone 
in  the  hive.  Bobby's  fine  imaginings  were 
pretty  sure  to  bring  out  a  "now  or  never," 
which  was  the  pledge  of  action,  and  the  work 
was  as  good  as  done  when  he  had  said  it. 

Therefore,  when  the  train  arrived,  Bobby  did 
not  stop  to  dream  any  longer.  He  forgot  his 
beautiful  air  castle,  and  even  let  Annie  Lee 
slip  from  his  mind  for  the  time  being.  Those 
towns  upon  the  Kennebec,  the  two  hundred  books 
he  was  to  sell,  loomed  up  before  him,  for  it  was 
with  them  he  had  to  do. 


194  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Grasping  the  little  valise  he  carried  with  him, 
he  was  hastening  out  of  the  station  house  when 
a  hand  was  placed  upon  his  shoulder. 

"Got  off  slick  — didn't  I?"  said  Tom  Spicer, 
placing  himself  by  Bobby's  side. 

"  You  here,  Tom !  "  exclaimed  our  hero,  gazing 
with  astonishment  at  his  late  companion. 

It  was  not  an  agreeable  encounter,  and  from 
the  bottom  of  his  heart  Bobby  wished  him  any 
where  but  where  he  was.  He  foresaw  that  he 
could  not  easily  get  rid  of  him. 

"I  am  here,"  replied  Tom.  "I  ran  through 
the  woods  to  the  depot,  and  got  aboard  the  cars 
just  as  they  were  starting.  The  old  man  couldn't 
come  it  over  me  quite  so  slick  as  that." 

"But  you  ran  away  from  home." 

"Well,  what  of  it?" 

"A  good  deal,  I  should  say." 

"If  you  had  been  in  my  place,  you  would 
have  done  the  same." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that ;  obedience  to  parents 
is  one  of  our  first  duties." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      195 

"  I  know  that ;  and  if  I  had  had  any  sort  of 
fair  play,  I  wouldn't  have  run  away." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? "  asked  Bobby, 
somewhat  surprised,  though  he  had  a  faint  idea 
of  the  meaning  of  the  other. 

"I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  by  and  by.  I 
give  you  my  word  of  honor  that  I  will  make 
everything  satisfactory  to  you." 

"  But  you  lied  to  me  on  the  road  this  morn- 
ing." 

Tom  winced ;  under  ordinary  circumstances  he 
would  have  resented  such  a  remark  by  "  clearing 
away"  for  a  fight.  But  he  had  a  purpose  to 
accomplish,  and  he  knew  the  character  of  him 
with  whom  he  had  to  deal. 

"  I'm  sorry  I  did,  now,"  answered  Tom,  with 
every  manifestation  of  penitence  for  his  fault. 
"  I  didn't  want  to  lie  to  you ;  and  it  went 
against  my  conscience  to  do  so.  But  I  was 
afraid,  if  I  told  you  my  father  refused,  up  and 
down,  to  let  me  go,  that  you  wouldn't  be  will 
ing  I  should  come  with  you." 


196  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"  I  shall  not  be  any  more  willing  now  I  know 
all  about  it,"  added  Bobby,  in  an  uncompromising 
tone. 

"  Wait  till  you  have  heard  my  story,  and  then 
you  won't  blame  me." 

"  Of  course  you  can  go  where  you  please  ;  it  is 
none  of  my  business ;  but  let  me  tell  you,  Tom, 
in  the  beginning,  that  I  won't  go  with  a  fellow 
who  has  run  away  from  his  father  and  mother." 

"Pooh!  What's  the  use  of  talking  in  that 
way?" 

Tom  was  evidently  disconcerted  by  this  de 
cided  stand  of  his  companion.  He  knew  that 
his  bump  of  firmness  was  well  developed,  and 
whatever  he  said  he  meant. 

"You  had  better  return  home,  Tom.  Boys 
that  run  away  from  home  don't  often  amount 
to  much.  Take  my  advice,  and  go  home,"  added 
Bobby. 

"To  such  a  home  as  mine!"  said  Tom,  gloomily. 
"If  I  had  such  a  home  as  yours,  I  would  not 
have  left  it." 


197 

Bobby  got  a  further  idea  from  this  remark  of 
the  true  state  of  the  case,  and  the  considera 
tion  moved  him.  Tom's  father  was  a  noto 
riously  intemperate  man,  and  the  boy  had 
nothing  to  hope  for  from  his  precept  or  his 
example.  He  was  the  child  of  a  drunkard, 
and  as  much  to  be  pitied  as  blamed  for  his 
vices.  His  home  was  not  pleasant.  He  who 
presided  over  it,  and  who  should  have  made  a 
paradise  of  it,  was  its  evil  genius,  a  demon 
of  wickedness,  who  blasted  its  flowers  as  fast  as 
they  bloomed. 

Tom  had  seemed  truly  penitent  both  during 
his  illness  and  since  his  recovery.  His  one 
great  desire  now  was  to  get  away  from  home, 
for  home  to  him  was  a  place  of  torment.  Bobby 
suspected  all  this,  and  in  his  great  heart  he 
pitied  his  companion.  He  did  not  know  what 
to  do. 

"I  am  sorry  for  you,  Tom,"  said  he,  after  he 
had  considered  the  matter  in  this  new  light; 
"but  I  don't  see  what  I  can  do  for  you.  I 


198  JVOTF  OB  NEVER;  OB, 

doubt  whether  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  help 
you  run  away  from  your  parents." 

"I  don't  want  you  to  help  me  run  away.  I 
have  done  that  already." 

"  But  if  I  let  you  go  with  me,  it  will  be  just 
the  same  thing.  Besides,  since  you  told  me 
those  lies  this  morning,  I  haven't  much  confi 
dence  in  you." 

"I  couldn't  help  that." 

"Yes,  you  could.     Couldn't  help  lying?" 

"What  could  I  do?  You  would  have  gone 
right  back  and  told  my  father." 

"Well,  we  will  go  up  to  Mr.  Bayard's  store, 
and  then  we  will  see  what  can  be  done." 

"I  couldn't  stay  at  home,  sure,"  continued 
Tom,  as  they  walked  along  together.  "My 
father  even  talked  of  binding  me  out  to  a 
trade." 

"Did  he?" 

Bobby  stopped  short  in  the  street;  for  it 
was  evident  that,  as  this  would  remove  him 
from  his  unhappy  home,  and  thus  effect  all  he 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      199 

professed  to  desire,  he  had  some  other  purpose 
in  view. 

"What  are  you  stopping  for,  Bob?" 
"I  think  you  had  better  go  back,  Tom." 
"Not  I;   I  won't  do  that,  whatever  happens." 
"  If  your  father  will  put  you  to  a  trade,  what 
more  do  you  want  ?  " 

"I  won't  go  to  a  trade,  anyhow." 
Bobby  said  no  more,  but  determined  to  con 
sult  with  Mr.  Bayard  about  the  matter;  and 
Tom  was  soon  too  busily  engaged  in  observing 
the  strange  sights  and  sounds  of  the  city  to 
think  of  anything  else. 

When  they  reached  the  store,  Bobby  went 
into  Mr.  Bayard's  private  office  and  told  him 
all  about  the  affair.  The  bookseller  decided 
that  Tom  had  run  away  more  to  avoid  being 
bound  to  a  trade  than  because  his  home  was 
unpleasant;  and  this  decision  seemed  to  Bobby 
all  the  more  just  because  he  knew  that  Tom's 
mother,  though  a  drunkard's  wife,  was  a  very 
good  woman.  Mr.  Bayard  further  decided  that 


200  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Bobby  ought  not  to  permit  the  runaway  to  be 
the  companion  of  his  journey.  He  also  con 
sidered  it  his  duty  to  write  to  Mr.  Spicer,  in 
forming  him  of  his  son's  arrival  in  the  city, 
and  clearing  Bobby  from  any  agency  in  his 
escape. 

While  Mr.  Bayard  was  writing  the  letter, 
Bobby  went  out  to  give  Tom  the  result  of  the 
consultation.  The  runaway  received  it  with  a 
great  show  of  emotion,  and  begged  and  pleaded 
to  have  the  decision  reversed.  But  Bobby, 
though  he  would  gladly  have  done  anything  for 
him  which  was  consistent  with  his  duty,  was 
firm  as  a  rock,  and  positively  refused  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  him  until  he  obtained  his 
father's  consent;  or,  if  there  was  any  such 
trouble  as  he  asserted,  his  mother's  consent. 

Tom  left  the  store,  apparently  "more  in  sor 
row  than  in  anger."  His  bullying  nature  seemed 
to  be  cast  out,  and  Bobby  could  not  but  feel 
sorry  for  him.  Duty  was  imperative,  as  it 
always  is,  and  it  must  be  done  "  now  or  never." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      201 

During  the  day  the  little  merchant  attended 
to  the  packing  of  his  stock,  and  to  such  other 
preparations  as  were  required  for  his  journey. 
He  must  take  the  steamer  that  evening  for 
Bath,  and  when  the  time  for  his  departure 
arrived,  he  was  attended  to  the  wharf  by  Mr. 
Bayard  and  Ellen,  with  whom  he  had  passed 
the  afternoon.  The  bookseller  assisted  him 
in  procuring  his  ticket  and  berth,  and  gave 
him  such  instructions  as  his  inexperience  de 
manded. 

The  last  bell  rang,  the  fasts  were  cast  off, 
and  the  great  wheels  of  the  steamer  began  to 
turn.  Our  hero,  who  had  never  been  on  the 
water  in  a  steamboat,  or  indeed  anything  bigger 
than  a  punt  on  the  river  at  home,  was  much 
interested  and  excited  by  his  novel  position. 
He  seated  himself  on  the  promenade  deck,  and 
watched  with  wonder  the  boiling,  surging  waters 
astern  of  the  steamer. 

How  powerful  is  man,  the  author  of  that 
mighty  machine  that  bore  him  so  swiftly  over 


202  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OB, 

the  deep  blue  waters!  Bobby  was  a  little  phi 
losopher,  as  we  have  before  had  occasion  to 
remark,  and  he  was  decidedly  of  the  opinion 
that  the  steamboat  was  a  great  institution. 
When  he  had  in  some  measure  conquered  his 
amazement,  and  the  first  ideas  of  sublimity 
which  the  steamer  and  the  sea  were  calculated 
to  excite  in  a  poetical  imagination,  he  walked 
forward  to  take  a  closer  survey  of  the  ma 
chinery.  After  all,  there  was  something  rather 
comical  in  the  affair.  The  steam  hissed  and 
sputtered,  and  the  great  walking  beam  kept 
flying  up  and  down;  and  the  sum  total  of 
Bobby's  philosophy  was,  that  it  was  funny  these 
things  should  make  the  boat  go  so  like  a  race 
horse  over  the  water. 

Then  he  took  a  look  into  the  pilot  house, 
and  it  seemed  more  funny  that  turning  that 
big  wheel  should  steer  the  boat.  But  the  wind 
blew  rather  fresh  at  the  forward  part  of  the 
boat,  and  as  Bobby's  philosophy  was  not  proof 
against  it,  he  returned  to  the  promenade  deck, 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      203 

which  was  sheltered  from  the  severity  of  the 
blast.  He  had  got  reconciled  to  the  whole 
thing,  and  ceased  to  bother  his  head  about  the 
big  wheel,  the  sputtering  steam,  and  the  walk 
ing  beam;  so  he  seated  himself,  and  began  to 
wonder  what  all  the  people  in  Riverdale  were 
about. 

"All  them  as  hasn't  paid  their  fare,  please 
walk  up  to  the  capVs  office  and  s-e-t-t-1-e ! " 
shouted  a  colored  boy,  presenting  himself  just 
then,  and  furiously  ringing  a  large  hand  bell. 

"I  have  just  settled,"  said  Bobby,  alluding  to 
his  comfortable  seat. 

But  the  allusion  was  so  indefinite  to  the 
colored  boy  that  he  thought  himself  insulted. 
He  did  not  appear  to  be  a  very  amiable  boy, 
for  his  fist  was  doubled  up,  and  with  sundry 
big  oaths,  he  threatened  to  annihilate  the  little 
merchant  for  his  insolence. 

"  I  didn't  say  anything  that  need  offend  you," 
replied  Bobby.  "I  meant  nothing." 

"You  He  I    You  did!" 


204  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

He  was  on  the  point  of  administering  a  blow 
with  his  fist,  when  a  third  party  appeared  on 
the  ground,  and  without  waiting  to  hear  the 
merits  of  the  case,  struck  the  negro  a  blow 
which  had  nearly  floored  him. 

Some  of  the  passengers  now  interfered,  and 
the  colored  boy  was  prevented  from  executing 
vengeance  on  the  assailant. 

"  Strike  that  fellow  and  you  strike  me  I "  said 
he  who  had  struck  the  blow. 

"  Tom  Spicer  ! "  exclaimed  Bobby,  astonished 
and  chagrined  at  the  presence  of  the  runaway. 


THE  ADVENTUliES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      205 


CHAPTER  XVI 

IN  WHICH   BOBBY  FINDS   "  IT  IS   AN  ILL  WIND 
THAT  BLOWS  NO   ONE  ANY   GOOD" 

A  GENTLEMAN,  who  was  sitting  near  Bobby 
when  he  made  the  remark  which  the  colored 
boy  had  misunderstood,  interfered  to  free  him 
from  blame,  and  probably  all  unpleasant  feelings 
might  have  been  saved,  if  Tom's  zeal  had  been 
properly  directed.  As  it  was,  the  waiter  re 
tired  with  his  bell,  vowing  vengeance  upon  his 
assailant. 

"How  came  you  here,  Tom?"  asked  Bobby, 
when  the  excitement  had  subsided. 

"You  don't  get  rid  of  me  so  easily,"  replied 
Tom,  laughing. 

Bobby  called  to  mind  the  old  adage  that  "a 
bad  penny  is  sure  to  return ; "  and,  if  it  had 
not  been  a  very  uncivil  remark,  he  would  have 
said  it. 


206  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"I  didn't  expect  to  see  you  again  at  pres 
ent,"  he  observed,  hardly  knowing  what  to  say 
or  do. 

"I  suppose  not;  but  as  I  didn't  mean  you 
should  expect  me,  I  kept  out  of  sight.  Only 
for  that  darkey  you  wouldn't  have  found  me 
out  so  soon.  I  like  you,  Bob,  in  spite  of  all 
you  have  done  to  get  rid  of  me,  and  I  wasn't  a 
going  to  let  the  darkey  thrash  you." 

"You  only  made  matters  worse." 

"That  is  all  the  thanks  I  get  for  hitting  him 
for  you." 

"I  am  sorry  you  hit  him;  at  the  same  time  I 
suppose  you  meant  to  do  me  a  service,  and  I 
thank  you,  not  for  the  blow  you  struck  the 
black  boy,  but  for  your  good  intentions." 

"That  sounds  better.     I  meant  well,  Bob." 

"I  dare  say  you  did.  But  how  came  you 
here?" 

"Why,  you  see,  I  was  bound  to  go  with  you 
anyhow  or  at  least  to  keep  within  hail  of  you. 
You  told  me,  you  know,  that  you  were  going 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT       207 

in  the  steamboat;  and  after  I  left  the  shop, 
what  should  I  see  but  a  big  picture  of  a  steam 
boat  on  a  wall.  It  said,  'Bath,  Gardiner,  and 
Hallowell,'  on  the  bill;  and  I  knew  that  was 
where  you  meant  to  go.  So  this  afternoon  I 
hunts  round  and  finds  the  steamboat.  I  thought 
I  never  should  have  found  it;  but  here  I  am." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

"Going  into  the  book  business,"  replied  Tom, 
with  a  smile. 

"Where  are  your  books?" 

"  Down  stairs,  in  the  cellar  of  the  steamboat, 
or  whatever  you  call  it." 

"Where  did  you  get  them?" 

"Bought  'em,  of  course." 

"Did  you?    Where?" 

"Well,  I  don't  remember  the  name  of  the 
street  now.  I  could  go  right  there  if  I  was  in 
the  city,  though." 

"Would  they  trust  you?" 

Tom  hesitated.  The  lies  he  had  told  that 
morning  had  done  him  no  good  —  had  rather 


208  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

injured  his  cause;  and,  though  he  had  no  prin 
ciple  that  forbade  lying,  he  questioned  its  policy 
in  the  present  instance. 

"I  paid  part  down,  and  they  trusted  me 
part." 

"  How  many  books  you  got  ?  " 

"Twenty  dollars'  worth.  I  paid  eight  dollars 
down." 

"  You  did  ?  Where  did  you  get  the  eight 
dollars?" 

Bobby  remembered  the  money  Tom's  father 
had  lost  several  weeks  before,  and  immediately 
connected  that  circumstance  with  his  present 
ability  to  pay  so  large  a  sum. 

Tom  hesitated  again,  but  he  was  never  at  a 
loss  for  an  answer. 

"  My  mother  gave  it  to  me." 

"Your  mother?" 

"Yes,  sir!"  replied  Tom,  boldly,  and  in  that 
peculiarly  bluff  manner  which  is  almost  always 
good  evidence  that  the  boy  is  lying. 

"  But  you  ran  away  from  home." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY   BRIGHT      209 

"That's  so;  but  my  mother  knew  I  was  com- 
ing." 

"Did  she?" 

"To  be  sure  she  did." 

"You  didn't  say  so  before." 

"I  can't  tell  all  I  know  in  a  minute." 

"If  I  thought  your  mother  consented  to  your 
coming,  I  wouldn't  say  another  word." 

"  Well,  she  did ;  you  may  bet  your  life  on 
that." 

"And  your  mother  gave  you  ten  dollars?" 

"Who  said  she  gave  me  ten  dollars?"  asked 
Tom,  a  little  sharply. 

That  was  just  the  sum  his  father  had  lost, 
and  Bobby  had  unwittingly  hinted  his  suspi 
cion. 

"You  must  have  had  as  much  as  that  if  you 
paid  eight  on  your  books.  Your  fare  to  Bos 
ton  and  your  steamboat  fare  must  be  two 
dollars  more." 

"  I  know  that ;  but  look  here,  Bob ; "  and  Tom 
took  from  his  pocket  five  half  dollars  and  ex- 


210  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OB, 

hibited  them  to  his  companion.  "She  gave  me 
thirteen  dollars." 

Notwithstanding  this  argument,  Bobby  felt 
almost  sure  that  the  lost  ten  dollars  was  a  part 
of  his  capital. 

"I  will  tell  you  my  story  now,  Bob,  if  you 
like.  You  condemned  me  without  a  hearing, 
as  Jim  Guthrie  said  when  they  sent  him  to  the 
House  of  Correction  for  getting  drunk." 

"Go  ahead." 

The  substance  of  Tom's  story  was,  that  his 
father  drank  so  hard,  and  was  such  a  tyrant 
in  the  house,  that  he  could  endure  it  no  longer. 
His  father  and  mother  did  not  agree,  as  any 
one  might  have  suspected.  His  mother,  en 
couraged  by  the  success  of  Bobby,  thought  that 
Tom  might  do  something  of  the  kind,  and  she 
had  provided  him  the  money  to  buy  his  stock 
of  books. 

Bobby  had  not  much  confidence  in  this  story. 
He  had  been  deceived  once;  besides,  it  was 
not  consistent  with  his  previous  narrative,  and 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      211 

he  had  not  before  hinted  that  he  had  obtained 
his  mother's  consent.  But  Tom  was  eloquent, 
and  protested  that  he  had  reformed,  and  meant 
to  do  well.  He  declared,  by  all  that  was  good 
and  great,  Bobby  should  never  have  reason  to 
be  ashamed  of  him. 

Our  little  merchant  was  troubled.  He  could 
not  now  get  rid  of  Tom  without  actually  quar 
relling  with  him,  or  running  away  from  him. 
He  did  not  wish  to  do  the  former,  and  it 
was  not  an  easy  matter  to  do  the  latter.  Be 
sides,  there  was  hope  that  the  runaway  would 
do  well;  and  if  he  did,  when  he  carried  the 
profits  of  his  trade  home,  his  father  would  for 
give  him.  One  thing  was  certain;  if  he  re 
turned  to  Riverdale  he  would  be  what  he  had 
been  before. 

For  these  reasons  Bobby  finally,  but  very 
reluctantly,  consented  that  Tom  should  remain 
with  him,  resolving,  however,  that,  if  he  did  not 
behave  himself,  he  would  leave  him  at  once. 

Before  morning  he  had  another  reason.     When 


212  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OB, 

the  steamer  got  out  into  the  open  bay,  Bobby 
was  seasick.  He  retired  to  his  berth  with  a 
dreadful  headache;  as  he  described  it  afterwards, 
it  seemed  just  as  though  that  great  walking 
beam  was  smashing  up  and  down  right  in  the 
midst  of  his  brains.  He  had  never  felt  so  ill 
before  in  his  life,  and  was  very  sure,  in  his  in 
experience,  that  something  worse  than  mere  sea 
sickness  ailed  him. 

He  told  Tom,  who  was  not  in  the  least 
affected,  how  he  felt;  whereupon  the  runaway 
blustered  round,  got  the  steward  and  the  captain 
into  the  cabin,  and  was  very  sure  that  Bobby 
would  die  before  morning,  if  we  may  judge  by 
the  fuss  he  made. 

The  captain  was  angry  at  being  called  from 
the  pilot  house  for  nothing,  and  threatened  to 
throw  Tom  overboard  if  he  didn't  stop  his  noise. 
The  steward,  however,  was  a  kind-hearted  man, 
and  assured  Bobby  that  passengers  were  often  a 
great  deal  sicker  than  he  was;  but  he  promised 
to  do  something  for  his  relief,  and  Tom  went 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      213 

with  him  to  his  state  room  for  the  desired 
remedy. 

The  potion  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
table  spoonful  of  brandy,  which  Bobby,  who  had 
conscientious  scruples  about  drinking  ardent 
spirits,  at  first  refused  to  take.  Then  Tom  ar 
gued  the  point,  and  the  sick  boy  yielded.  The 
dose  made  him  sicker  yet,  and  nature  came  to 
his  relief,  and  in  a  little  while  he  felt  better. 

Tom  behaved  like  a  good  nurse;  he  staid  by 
his  friend  till  he  went  to  sleep,  and  then  "  turned 
in"  upon  a  settee  beneath  his  berth.  The  boat 
pitched  and  tumbled  about  so  in  the  heavy  sea 
that  Bobby  did  not  sleep  long,  and  when  he 
woke  he  found  Tom  ready  to  assist  him.  But 
our  hero  felt  better,  and  entreated  Tom  to  go 
to  sleep  again.  He  made  the  best  of  his  un 
pleasant  situation.  Sleep  was  not  to  be  wooed, 
and  he  tried  to  pass  away  the  dreary  hours  in 
thinking  of  Riverdale  and  the  dear  ones  there. 
His  mother  was  asleep,  and  Annie  was  asleep ; 
and  that  was  about  all  the  excitement  he  could 


214  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

get  up  even  on  the  home  question.  He  could 
not  build  castles  in  the  air,  for  seasickness  and 
castle  building  do  not  agree.  The  gold  and 
purple  clouds  would  be  black  in  spite  of  him, 
and  the  aerial  structure  he  essayed  to  build 
would  pitch  and  tumble  about,  for  all  the  world, 
just  like  a  steamboat  in  a  heavy  sea.  As  often 
as  he  got  fairly  into  it,  he  was  violently  rolled 
out,  and  in  a  twinkling  found  himself  in  his 
narrow  berth,  awfully  seasick. 

He  went  to  sleep  again  at  last,  and  the 
long  night  passed  away.  When  he  woke  in 
the  morning,  he  felt  tolerably  well,  and  was 
thankful  that  he  had  got  out  of  that  scrape. 
But  before  he  could  dress  himself,  he  heard  a 
terrible  racket  on  deck.  The  steam  whistle  was 
shrieking,  the  bell  was  banging,  and  he  heard 
the  hoarse  bellowing  of  the  captain.  It  was 
certain  that  something  had  happened,  or  was 
about  to  happen. 

Then  the  boat  stopped,  rolling  heavily  in  the 
sea.  Tom  was  not  there;  he  had  gone  on 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      215 

deck.  Bobby  was  beginning  to  consider  what 
a  dreadful  thing  a  wreck  was,  when  Tom 
appeared. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Bobby,  with 
some  appearance  of  alarm. 

"Fog,"  replied  Tom.  "It  is  so  thick  you 
can  cut  it  with  a  hatchet." 

"Is  that  all?" 

"That's  enough." 

"  Where  are  we  ?  " 

"That  is  just  what  the  pilot  would  like  to 
know.  They  can't  see  ahead  a  bit,  and  don't 
know  where  we  are." 

Bobby  went  on  deck.  The  ocean  rolled  be 
neath  them,  but  there  was  nothing  but  fog  to 
be  seen  above  and  around  them.  The  lead  was 
heaved  every  few  moments,  and  the  steamer 
crept  slowly  along  till  it  was  found  the  water 
shoaled  rapidly,  when  the  captain  ordered  the 
men  to  let  go  the  anchor. 

There  they  were ;  the  fog  was  as  obstinate 
as  a  mule,  and  would  not  "lift."  Hour  after 


216  NOW  OR  XEVER;   OR, 

hour  they  waited,  for  the  captain  was  a  prudent 
man,  and  would  not  risk  the  life  of  those  on 
board  to  save  a  few  hours'  time.  After  break- 
East,  the  passengers  began  to  display  their  un 
easiness,  and  some  of  them  called  the  captain 
very  hard  names,  because  he  would  not  go  on. 
Almost  everybody  grumbled,  and  made  them 
selves  miserable. 

"  Nothing  to  do  and  nothing  to  read,"  growled 
a  nicely-dressed  gentleman,  as  he  yawned  and 
stretched  himself  to  manifest  his  sensation  of 
ennui. 

"Nothing  to  read,  eh?"  thought  Bobby.  "We 
will  soon  supply  that  want." 

Calling  Tom,  they  went  down  to  the  main 
deck  where  the  baggage  had  been  placed. 

"Now's  our  time,"  said  he,  as  he  proceeded 
to  unlock  one  of  the  trunks  that  contained  his 
books.  "Now  or  never." 

"I  am  with  you,"  replied  Tom,  catching  the 
idea. 

The  books  of  the  latter  were  in  a  box,  and  he 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      217 

was  obliged  to  get  a  hammer  to  open  it ;  but 
with  Bobby's  assistance  he  soon  got  at  them. 

"  Buy  '  The  Wayfarer,' "  said  Bobby,  when  he 
returned  to  the  saloon,  and  placed  a  volume  in 
the  hands  of  the  yawning  gentleman.  "Best 
book  of  the  season;  only  one  dollar." 

"  That  I  will,  and  glad  of  the  chance,"  re 
plied  the  gentleman.  "I  would  give  five  dol 
lars  for  anything,  if  it  were  only  the  '  Comic 
Almanac.' " 

Others  were  of  the  same  mind.  There  was 
no  present  prospect  that  the  fog  would  lift,  and 
before  dinner  time  our  merchant  had  sold  fifty 
copies  of  "The  Wayfarer."  Tom,  whose  books 
were  of  an  inferior  description,  and  who  was 
inexperienced  as  a  salesman,  disposed  of  twenty, 
which  was  more  than  half  of  his  stock.  The 
fog  was  a  godsend  to  both  of  them, 'and  they 
reaped  a  rich  harvest  from  the  occasion,  for 
almost  all  the  passengers  seemed  willing  to 
spend  their  money  freely  for  the  means  of  oc 
cupying  the  heavy  hours  and  driving  away  that 


218  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

dreadful   ennui  which   reigns  supreme   in  a  fog 
bound  steamer. 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  the  fog 
blew  over,  and  the  boat  proceeded  on  her  voyage, 
and  before  sunset  our  young  merchants  were 
safely  landed  at  Bath. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      219 


CHAPTER  XVH 

IN  WHICH   TOM   HAS   A   GOOD    TIME,    AND    BOBBY 
MEETS  WITH   A  TERRIBLE  MISFORTUNE 

BATH  afforded  our  young  merchants  an  ex 
cellent  market  for  their  wares,  and  they  remained 
there  the  rest  of  the  week.  They  then  pro 
ceeded  to  Brunswick,  where  their  success  was 
equally  flattering. 

Thus  far  Tom  had  done  very  well,  though 
Bobby  had  frequent  occasion  to  remind  him  of 
the  pledges  he  had  given  to  conduct  himself 
in  a  proper  manner.  He  would  swear  now  and 
then,  from  the  force  of  habit;  but  invariably, 
when  Bobby  checked  him,  he  promised  to  do 
better. 

At  Brunswick  Tom  sold  the  last  of  his  books, 
and  was  in  possession  of  about  thirty  dollars, 
twelve  of  which  he  owed  the  publisher  who  had 
furnished  his  stock.  This  money  seemed  to 


220  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

burn  in  his  pocket.  He  had  the  means  of  hav 
ing  a  good  time,  and  it  went  hard  with  him  to 
plod  along  as  Bobby  did,  careful  to  save  every 
penny  he  could. 

"  Come,  Bob,  let's  get  a  horse  and  chaise  and 
have  a  ride  —  what  do  you  say  ?  "  proposed  Tom, 
on  the  day  he  finished  selling  his  books. 

"  I  can't  spare  the  time  or  the  money,"  replied 
Bobby,  decidedly. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  having  money  if  we 
can't  spend  it?  It  is  a  first  rate  day,  and  we 
should  have  a  good  time." 

"  I  can't  afford  it.  I  have  a  great  many  books 
to  sell." 

"About  a  hundred;  you  can  sell  them  fast 
enough." 

"  I  don't  spend  my  money  foolishly." 

"It  wouldn't  be  foolishly.  I  have  sold  out, 
and  I  am  bound  to  have  a  little  fun  now." 

"  You  never  will  succeed  if  you  do  business 
in  that  way." 

"Why  not?" 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      221 

"You  will  spend  your  money  as  fast  as  you 
get  it." 

"  Pooh !  we  can  get  a  horse  and  chaise  for  the 
afternoon  for  two  dollars.  That  is  not  much." 

"  Considerable,  I  should  say.  But  if  you 
begin,  there  is  no  knowing  where  to  leave  off. 
I  make  it  a  rule  not  to  spend  a  single  cent 
foolishly,  and  if  I  don't  begin,  I  shall  never  do 
it." 

"I  don't  mean  to  spend  all  I  get;  only  a 
little  now  and  then,"  persisted  Tom. 

"Don't  spend  the  first  dollar  for  nonsense, 
and  then  you  won't  spend  the  second.  Besides, 
when  I  have  any  money  to  spare,  I  mean  to 
buy  books  with  it  for  my  library." 

"  Humbug !     Your  library ! " 

"Yes,  my  library;  I  mean  to  have  a  library 
one  of  these  days." 

"  I  don't  want  any  library,  and  I  mean  to 
spend  some  of  my  money  in  having  a  good 
time;  and  if  you  won't  go  with  me,  I  shall 
go  alone  —  that's  all." 


222  NOW  OB  NEVER;   OR, 

"You  can  do  as  you  please,  of  course;  but  I 
advise  you  to  keep  your  money.  You  will 
want  it  to  buy  another  stock  of  books." 

"I  shall  have  enough  for  that.  What  do  you 
say  ?  will  you  go  with  me  or  not  ?  " 

"No,  I  will  not." 

"Enough  said;  then  I  shall  go  alone,  or  get 
some  fellow  to  go  with  me." 

"  Consider  well  before  you  go,"  pleaded 
Bobby,  who  had  sense  enough  to  see  that 
Tom's  proposed  "good  time"  would  put  back, 
if  not  entirely  prevent,  the  reform  he  was 
working  out. 

He  then  proceeded  to  reason  with  him  in  a 
very  earnest  and  feeling  manner,  telling  him 
he  would  not  only  spend  all  his  money,  but 
completely  unfit  himself  for  business.  What  he 
proposed  to  do  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
extravagance,  and  it  would  lead  him  to  dissipa 
tion  and  ruin. 

"To-day  I  am  going  to  send  one  hundred 
dollars  to  Mr.  Bayard,"  continued  Bobby;  "for 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      223 

I  am  afraid  to  have  so  much  money  with  me. 
I  advise  you  to  send  your  money  to  your  em 
ployer." 

"Humph!  Catch  me  doing  that!  I  am 
bound  to  have  a  good  time,  anyhow." 

"At  least,  send  the  money  you  owe  him." 

"I'll  bet  I  won't." 

"Well,  do  as  you  please;  I  have  said  all  I 
have  to  say." 

"  You  are  a  fool,  Bob ! "  exclaimed  Tom,  who 
had  evidently  used  Bobby  as  much  as  he  wished, 
and  no  longer  cared  to  speak  soft  words  to  him. 

"Perhaps  I  am;  but  I  know  better  than  to 
spend  my  money  upon  fast  horses.  If  you  will 
go,  I  can't  help  it.  I  am  sorry  you  are  going 
astray." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that,  you  young 
monkey?"  said  Tom,  angrily. 
.  This  was  Tom  Spicer,  the  bully.  It  sounded 
like  him;  and  with  a  feeling  of  sorrow  Bobby 
resigned  the  hopes  he  had  cherished  of  making 
a  good  boy  of  him. 


224  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"We  had  better  part  now,"  added  our  hero, 
sadly. 

"I'm  willing." 

"I  shall  leave  Brunswick  this  afternoon  for 
the  towns  up  the  river.  I  hope  no  harm  will 
befall  you.  Good  by,  Tom." 

"  Go  it !  I  have  heard  your  preaching  about 
long  enough,  and  I  am  more  glad  to  get  rid  of 
you  than  you  are  to  get  rid  of  me." 

Bobby  walked  away  towards  the  house  where 
he  had  left  the  trunk  containing  his  books, 
while  Tom  made  his  way  towards  a  livery 
stable.  The  boys  had  been  in  the  place  for 
several  days,  and  had  made  some  acquaintances; 
so  Tom  had  no  difficulty  in  procuring  a  com 
panion  for  his  proposed  ride. 

Our  hero  wrote  a  letter  that  afternoon  to  Mr. 
Bayard,  in  which  he  narrated  all  the  particulars 
of  his  journey,  his  relations  with  Tom  Spicer, 
and  the  success  that  had  attended  his  labors. 
At  the  bank  he  procured  a  hundred  dollar  note 
for  his  small  bills,  and  enclosed  it  in  the  letter. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      225 

He  felt  sad  about  Tom.  The  runaway  had 
done  so  well,  had  been  so  industrious,  and 
shown  such  a  tractable  spirit,  that  he  had  been 
very  much  encouraged  about  him.  But  if  he 
meant  to  be  wild  again,  —  for  it  was  plain  that 
the  ride  was  only  "the  beginning  of  sorrows," 
—  it  was  well  that  they  should  part. 

By  the  afternoon  stage  our  hero  proceeded  to 
Gardiner,  passing  through  several  smaller  towns, 
which  did  not  promise  a  very  abundant  harvest. 
His  usual  success  attended  him ;  for  wherever 
he  went,  people  seemed  to  be  pleased  with  him, 
as  Squire  Lee  had  declared  they  would  be.  His 
pleasant,  honest  face  was  a  capital  recommenda 
tion,  and  his  eloquence  seldom  failed  to  achieve 
the  result  which  eloquence  has  ever  achieved 
from  Demosthenes  down  to  the  present  day. 

Our  limits  do  not  permit  us  to  follow  him  in 
all  his  peregrinations  from  town  to  town,  and 
from  house  to  house;  so  we  pass  over  the  next 
fortnight,  at  the  end  of  which  time  we  find 
him  at  Augusta.  He  had  sold  all  his  books  but 


226  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

twenty,  and  had  that  day  remitted  eighty  dol 
lars  more  to  Mr.  Bayard.  It  was  Wednesday, 
and  he  hoped  to  sell  out  so  as  to  be  able  to 
take  the  next  steamer  for  Boston,  which  was 
advertised  to  sail  on  the  following  day. 

He  had  heard  nothing  from  Tom  since  their 
parting,  and  had  given  up  all  expectation  of 
meeting  him  again ;  but  that  bad  penny  maxim 
proved  true  once  more,  for,  as  he  was  walking 
through  one  of  the  streets  of  Augusta,  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  meet  him  —  and  this  time  it 
was  indeed  a  misfortune. 

"  Hallo,  Bobby ! "  shouted  the  runaway,  as 
familiarly  as  though  nothing  had  happened  to 
disturb  the  harmony  of  their  relations. 

"  Ah,  Tom,  I  didn't  expect  to  see  you  again," 
replied  Bobby,  not  very  much  rejoiced  to  meet 
his  late  companion. 

"  I  suppose  not ;  but  here  I  am,  as  good  as 
new.  Have  you  sold  out?" 

"No,  not  quite." 

"  How  many  have  you  left  ? " 


THE  ADVENTUBES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      227 

"  About  twenty;  but  I  thought,  Tom,  you 
would  have  returned  to  Boston  before  this  time." 

"  No ; "  and  Tom  did  not  seem  to  be  in  very 
good  spirits. 

"  Where  are  you  going  now  ? " 

"I  don't  know.     I  ought  to  have  taken  your 

advice,  Bobby." 

**• 
This  was  a  concession,  and  our  hero  began  to 

feel  some  sympathy  for  his  companion  —  as  who 
does  not  when  the  erring  confess  their  faults? 

"  I  am  sorry  you  did  not." 

"  I  got  in  with  some  pretty  hard  fellows  down 
there  to  Brunswick,"  continued  Tom,  rather 
sheepishly. 

"And  spent  all  your  money,"  added  Bobby, 
who  could  readily  understand  the  reason  why 
Tom  had  put  on  his  humility  again. 

"Not  all." 

"  How  much  have  you  left  ?  " 

"Not  much,"  replied  he,  evasively.  "I  don't 
know  what  I  shall  do.  I  am  in  a  strange  place, 
and  have  no  friends." 


228  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

Bobby's  sympathies  were  aroused,  and  without 
reflection,  he  promised  to  be  a  friend  in  his  ex 
tremity. 

"  I  will  stick  by  you  this  time,  Bob,  come 
what  will.  I  will  do  just  as  you  say,  now." 

Our   merchant   was   a   little    flattered  by   this 

unreserved   display    of   confidence.     He    did   not 

* 

give  weight  enough  to  the  fact  that  it  was  ad 
versity  alone  which  made  Tom  so  humble.  He 
was  in  trouble,  and  gave  him  all  the  guarantee 
he  could  ask  for  his  future  good  behavior.  He 
could  not  desert  him  now  he  was  in  difficulty. 

"You  shall  help  me  sell  my  books,  and  then 
we  will  return  to  Boston  together.  Have  you 
money  enough  left  to  pay  your  employer?" 

Tom  hesitated ;  something  evidently  hung  heav 
ily  upon  his  mind. 

"  I  don't  know  how  it  will  be  after  I  have 
paid  my  expenses  to  Boston,"  he  replied,  avert 
ing  his  face. 

Bobby  was  perplexed  by  this  evasive  answer ; 
but  as  Tom  seemed  so  reluctant  to  go  into  de- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      229 

tails,  he  reserved  his  inquiries  for  a  more  con 
venient  season. 

"  Now,  Tom,  you  take  the  houses  on  that  side 
of  the  street,  and  I  will  take  those  upon  this 
side.  You  shall  have  the  profits  on  all  you 
sell." 

"  You  are  a  first  rate  fellow,  Bob ;  and  I  only 
wish  I  had  done  as  you  wanted  me  to  do." 

"Can't  be  helped  now,  and  we  will  do  the 
next  best  thing,"  replied  Bobby,  as  he  left  his 
companion  to  enter  a  house. 

Tom  did  very  well,  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  they  had  sold  all  the  books  but  four. 
"  The  Wayfarer "  had  been  liberally  advertised 
in  that  vicinity,  and  the  work  was  in  great  de 
mand.  Bobby's  heart  grew  lighter  as  the  vol 
umes  disappeared  from  his  valise,  and  already 
he  had  begun  to  picture  the  scene  which  would 
ensue  upon  his  return  to  the  little  black  house. 
How  glad  his  mother  would  be  to  see  him,  and, 
he  dared  believe,  how  happy  Annie  would  be 
as  she  listened  to  the  account  of  his  journey  in 


230  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

the  State  of  Maine !  Wouldn't  she  be  astonished 
when  he  told  her  about  the  steamboat,  about 
the  fog,  and  about  the  wild  region  at  the  mouth 
of  the  beautiful  Kennebec  ! 

Poor  Bobby  I  the  brightest  dream  often  ends 
in  sadness  ;  and  a  greater  trial  than  any  he  had 
been  called  upon  to  endure  was  yet  in  store  for 
him. 

As  he  walked  along,  thinking  of  Riverdale 
and  its  loved  ones,  Tom  came  out  of  a  grocery 
store  where  he  had  just  sold  a  book. 

"Here,  Bob,  is  a  ten  dollar  bill.  I  believe  I 
have  sold  ten  books  for  you,"  said  Tom,  after 
they  had  walked  some  distance.  "You  had 
better  keep  the  money  now;  and  while  I  think 
of  it,  you  had  better  take  what  I  have  left  of 
my  former  sales ; "  and  Tom  handed  him  another 
ten  dollar  bill. 

Bobby  noticed  that  Tom  seemed  very  much 
confused  and  embarrassed ;  but  he  did  not  observe 
that  the  two  bills  he  had  handed  him  were  on 
the  same  bank. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      231 

"Then  you  had  ten  dollars  left  after  your 
frolic,"  he  remarked,  as  he  took  the  last  bill. 

"About  that;"  and  Tom  glanced  uneasily 
behind  him. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  you,  Tom?"  asked 
Bobby,  who  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  his 
companion's  embarrassment. 

"Nothing,  Bob;  let  us  walk  a  little  faster. 
We  had  better  turn  up  this  street,"  continued 
Tom,  as,  with  a  quick  pace,  he  took  the  direction 
indicated. 

Bobby  began  to  fear  that  Tom  had  been  doing 
something  wrong;  and  the  suspicion  was  con 
firmed  by  seeing  two  men  running  with  all  their 
might  towards  them.  Tom  perceived  them  at 
the  same  moment. 

"Run!"  he  shouted,  and  suiting  the  action 
to  the  word,  he  took  to  his  heels,  and  fled 
up  the  street  into  which  he  had  proposed  to 
turn. 

Bobby  did  not  run,  but  stopped  short  where  he 
was  till  the  men  came  up  to  him. 


232  NOW  OE  NEVER;  OR, 

"Grab  him,"  said  one  of  them,  "and  I  will 
catch  the  other." 

The  man  collared  Bobby,  and  in  spite  of  all 
the  resistance  he  could  make,  dragged  him  down 
the  street  to  the  grocery  store  in  which  Tom  had 
sold  his  last  book. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  this  ? "  asked  Bobby, 
his  blood  boiling  with  indignation  at  the  harsh 
treatment  to  which  he  had  been  subjected. 

"We  have  got  you,  my  hearty,"  replied  the 
man,  releasing  his  hold. 

No  sooner  was  the  grasp  of  the  man  re 
moved,  than  Bobby,  who  determined  on  this  as 
on  former  occasions  to  stand  upon  his  inalien 
able  rights,  bolted  for  the  door,  and  ran  away 
with  all  his  speed.  But  his  captor  was  too 
fleet  for  him,  and  he  was  immediately  retaken. 
To  make  him  sure  this  time,  his  arms  were  tied 
behind  him,  and  he  was  sectored  to  the  counter 
of  the  shop. 

In  a  few  moments  the  other  man  returned, 
dragging  Tom  in  triumph  after  him.  By  this 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      233 

time  quite  a  crowd  had  collected,  which,  nearly 
filled  the  store. 

Bobby  was  confounded  at  the  sudden  change 
that  had  come  over  his  fortunes ;  but  seeing  that 
resistance  would  be  vain,  he  resolved  to  submit 
with  the  best  grace  he  could. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  all  this  means  ?  " 
he  inquired,  indignantly. 

The  crowd  laughed  in  derision. 

"  This  is  the  chap  that  stole  the  wallet,  I  will 
be  bound,"  said  one,  pointing  to  Tom,  who  stood 
in  surly  silence  awaiting  his  fate. 

"  He  is  the  one  who  came  into  the  store,"  re 
plied  the  shopkeeper. 

"  I  haven't  stole  any  wallet,"  protested  Bobby, 
who  now  understood  the  whole  affair. 

The  names  of  the  two  boys  were  taken,  and 
warrants  procured  for  their  detention.  They 
were  searched,  and  upon  Tom  was  found  the 
lost  wallet,  and  upon  Bobby  two  ten  dollar 
bills,  which  the  loser  was  willing  to  swear 
had  been  in  the  wallet.  The  evidence  there- 


234  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

fore  was  conclusive,  and  they  were  both  sent 
to  jail. 

Poor  Bobby!  the  inmate  of  a  prison! 

The  law  took  its  course,  and  in  due  time  both 
of  them  were  sentenced  to  two  years'  imprison 
ment  in  the  State  Reform  School.  Bobby  was 
innocent,  but  he  could  not  make  his  innocence 
appear.  He  had  been  the  companion  of  Tom, 
the  real  thief,  and  part  of  the  money  had  been 
found  upon  his  person.  Tom  was  too  mean  to 
exonerate  him,  and  even  had  the  hardihood  to 
exult  over  his  misfortune. 

At  the  end  of  three  days  they  reached  the  town 
in  which  the  Reform  School  is  located,  and  were 
duly  committed  for  their  long  term. 

Poor  Bobby! 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      235 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

IN    WHICH    BOBBY    TAKES    FRENCH    LEAVE,   AND 
CAMPS  IN  THE  WOODS 

THE  intelligence  of  Bobby's  misfortune  reached 
Mr.  Bayard,  in  Boston,  by  means  of  the  news 
papers.  To  the  country  press  an  item  is  a  matter 
of  considerable  importance,  and  the  alleged  offence 
against  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  State  of 
Maine  was  duly  heralded  to  the  inquiring  public 
as  a  "daring  robbery."  The  reporter  who  fur 
nished  the  facts  in  the  case  for  publication  was 
not  entirely  devoid  of  that  essential  qualification 
of  the  country  item  writer,  a  lively  imagination* 
and  was  obliged  to  dress  up  the  particulars  a 
little,  in  order  to  produce  the  necessary  amount 
of  wonder  and  indignation.  It  was  stated  that 
one  of  the  two  young  men  had  been  prowling 
about  the  place  for  several  days,  ostensibly  for 
the  purpose  of  selling  books,  but  really  with  the 


236  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

intention  of  stealing  whatever  he  could  lay  his 
hands  upon.  It  was  suggested  that  the  boys  were 
in  league  with  an  organized  band  of  robbers, 
whose  nefarious  purposes  would  be  defeated  by 
the  timely  arrest  of  these  young  villains.  The 
paper  hinted  that  further  depredations  would 
probably  be  discovered,  and  warned  people  to 
beware  of  ruffians  strolling  about  the  country  in 
the  guise  of  pedlers. 

The  writer  of  this  thrilling  paragraph  must 
have  had  reason  to  believe  that  he  had  discharged 
his  whole  duty  to  the  public,  and  that  our  hero 
was  duly  branded  as  a  desperate  fellow.  No 
doubt  he  believed  Bobby  was  an  awful  monster ; 
for  at  the  conclusion  of  his  remarks  he  introduced 
some  severe  strictures  on  the  lenity  of  the  magis 
trate,  because  he  had  made  the  sentence  two 
years,  instead  of  five,  which  the  writer  thought 
the  atrocious  crime  deserved.  But,  then,  the  jus 
tice  differed  from  him  in  politics,  which  may 
account  for  the  severity  of  the  article. 

Mr.  Bayard  read  this  precious  paragraph  with 


237 

mingled  grief  and  indignation.  He  understood 
the  case  at  a  glance.  Tom  Spicer  had  joined 
him,  and  the  little  merchant  had  been  involved  in 
his  crime.  He  was  sure  that  Bobby  had  had  no 
part  in  stealing  the  money.  One  so  noble  and 
true  as  he  had  been  could  not  steal,  he  reasoned. 
It  was  contrary  to  experience,  contrary  to  common 
sense. 

He  was  very  much  disturbed.  This  intelli 
gence  would  be  a  severe  blow  to  the  poor  boy's 
mother,  and  he  had  not  the  courage  to  destroy  all 
her  bright  hopes  by  writing  her  the  terrible  truth. 
He  was  confident  that  Bobby  was  innocent,  and 
that  his  being  in  the  company  of  Tom  Spicer  had 
brought  the  imputation  upon  him;  so  he  could 
not  let  the  matter  take  its  course.  He  was  deter 
mined  to  do  something  to  procure  his  liberty  and 
restore  his  reputation. 

Squire  Lee  was  in  the  city  that  day,  and  had 
left  his  store  only  half  an  hour  before  he  discov 
ered  the  paragraph.  He  immediately  sent  to  his 
hotel  for  him,  and  together  they  devised  means  to 


238  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

effect  Bobby's  liberation.  The  squire  was  even 
more  confident  than  Mr.  Bayard  that  our  hero 
was  innocent  of  the  crime  charged  upon  him. 
They  agreed  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  State 
of  Maine,  and  use  their  influence  in  obtaining  his 
pardon.  The  bookseller  was  a  man  of  influence  in 
the  community,  and  was  as  well  known  in  Maine 
as  in  Massachusetts;  but  to  make  their  applica 
tion  the  surer,  he  procured  letters  of  introduction 
from  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  Bos 
ton  to  the  governor  and  other  official  persons  in 
Maine. 

We  will  leave  them  now  to  do  the  work  they 
had  so  generously  undertaken,  and  return  to  the 
Reform  School,  where  Bobby  and  Tom  were  con 
fined.  The  latter  took  the  matter  very  coolly. 
He  seemed  to  feel  that  he  deserved  his  sen 
tence,  but  he  took  a  malicious  delight  in  see 
ing  Bobby  the  companion  of  his  captivity.  He 
even  had  the  hardihood  to  remind  him  of  the 
blow  he  had  struck  him  more  than  two  months 
before,  telling  him  that  he  had  vowed  vengeance 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      239 

then,  and  now  the  time  had  come.  He  was 
satisfied. 

"You  know  I  didn't  steal  the  money,  or  have 
anything  to  do  with  it,"  said  Bobby. 

"Some  of  it  was  found  upon  you,  though," 
sneered  Tom,  maliciously. 

"You  know  how  it  came  there,  if  no  one  else 
does." 

"  Of  course  I  do ;  but  I  like  your  company  too 
well  to  get  rid  of  you  so  easy." 

"The  Lord  is  with  the  innocent,"  replied 
Bobby;  "and  something  tells  me  that  I  shall 
not  stay  in  this  place  a  great  while." 

"Going  to  run  away?"  asked  Tom,  with 
interest,  and  suddenly  dropping  his  malicious 
look. 

"I  know  I  am  innocent  of  any  crime;  and  I 
know  that  the  Lord  will  not  let  me  stay  here 
a  great  while." 

"What  do  you  mean  to  do,  Bob?" 

Bobby  made,  no  reply;  he  felt  that  he  had 
had  more  confidence  in  Tom  than  he  deserved, 


240  NOW  OR  NEVER  ;  OR, 

and  he  determined  to  keep  his  own  counsel  in 
future.  He  had  a  purpose  in  view.  His  inno 
cence  gave  him  courage;  and  perhaps  he  did 
not  feel  that  sense  of  necessity  for  submission 
to  the  laws  of  the  land  which  age  and  experi 
ence  give.  He  prayed  earnestly  for  deliver 
ance  from  the  place  in  which  he  was  confined. 
He  felt  that  he  did  not  deserve  to  be  there; 
and  though  it  was  a  very  comfortable  place, 
and  the  boys  fared  as  well  as  he  wished  to 
fare,  still  it  seemed  to  him  like  a  prison.  He 
was  unjustly  detained;  and  he  not  only  prayed 
to  be  delivered,  but  he  resolved  to  work  out 
his  own  deliverance  at  the  first  opportunity. 

Knowing  that  whatever  he  had  would  be 
taken  from  him,  he  resolved  by  some  means  to 
keep  possession  of  the  twenty  dollars  he  had 
about  him.  He  had  always  kept  his  money  in 
a  secret  place  in  his  jacket  to  guard  against 
accident,  and  the  officers  who  had  searched  him 
had  not  discovered  it.  But  now  his  clothes 
would  be  changed.  He  thought  of  these  things 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BEIGHT      241 

before  his  arrival;  so,  when  he  reached  the 
entrance,  and  got  out  of  the  wagon,  to  open 
the  gate,  by  order  of  the  officer,  he  slipped 
his  twenty  dollars  into  a  hole  in  the  wall. 

It  so  happened  that  there  was  not  a  suit  of 
clothes  in  the  store  room  of  the  institution 
which  would  fit  him;  and  he  was  permitted  to 
wear  his  own  dress  till  another  should  be 
made.  After  his  name  and  description  had 
been  entered,  and  the  superintendent  had  read 
him  a  lecture  upon  his  future  duties,  he  was 
permitted  to  join  the  other  boys,  who  were  at 
work  on  the  farm.  He  was  sent  with  half  a 
dozen  others  to  pick  up  stones  in  a  neighboring 
field.  No  officer  was  with  them,  and  Bobby 
was  struck  with  the  apparent  freedom  of  the 
institution,  and  he  so  expressed  himself  to  his 
companions. 

"Not  so  much  freedom  as  you  think  for," 
said  one,  in  reply. 

"I  should  think  the  fellows  would  clear 
out." 


242  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

* 

"Not  so  easy  a  matter.  There  is  a  standing 
reward  of  five  dollars  to  any  one  who  brings 
back  a  runaway." 

"They  must  catch  him  first." 

"No  fellow  ever  got  away  yet.  They  always 
caught  him  before  he  got  ten  miles  from  the 
place." 

This  was  an  important  suggestion  to  Bobby, 
who  already  had  a  definite  purpose  in  his  mind. 
Like  a  skilful  general,  he  had  surveyed  the 
ground  on  his  arrival,  and  was  at  once  prepared 
to  execute  his  design. 

In  his  conversation  with  the  boys,  he  obtained 
the  history  of  several  who  had  attempted  to 
escape,  and  found  that  even  those  who  got  a 
fair  start  were  taken  on  some  public  road. 
He  perceived  that  they  were  not  good  gen 
erals,  and  he  determined  to  profit  by  their  mis 
take. 

A  short  distance  from  the  institution  was  what 
appeared  to  be  a  very  extensive  wood.  Beyond 
this,  many  miles  distant,  he  could  see  the  ocean 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      243 

glittering  like  a  sheet  of  ice  under  the  setting 
sun. 

He  carefully  observed  the  hills,  and  obtained 
the  bearings  of  various  prominent  objects  in 
the  vicinity  which  would  aid  him  in  his  flight. 
The  boys  gave  him  all  the  information  in.  their 
power  about  the  localities  of  the  country.  They 
seemed  to  feel  that  he  was  possessed  of  a  supe 
rior  spirit,  and  that  he  would  not  long  remain 
among  them;  but,  whatever  they  thought,  they 
kept  their  own  counsel. 

Bobby  behaved  well,  and  was  so  intelligent 
and  prompt  that  he  obtained  the  confidence 
of  the  superintendent,  who  began  to  employ 
him  about  the  house,  and  in  his  own  family. 
He  was  sent  of  errands  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  conducted  himself  so  much  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  his  guardians  that  he  was  not  required 
to  work  in  the  field  after  the  second  day  of 
his  residence  on  the  farm. 

One  afternoon  he  was  told  that  his  clothes 
were  ready,  and  that  he  might  put  them  on 


244  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

the  next  morning.  This  was  a  disagreeable  an 
nouncement;  for  Bobby  saw  that,  with  the  uni 
form  of  the  institution  upon  his  back,  his  chance 
of  escape  would  be  very  slight.  But  about 
sunset,  he  was  sent  by  the  superintendent's  lady 
to  deliver  a  note  at  a  house  in  the  vicinity. 

"  Now  or  never ! "  said  Bobby  to  himself,  after 
he  had  left  the  house.-  "  Now's  my  time." 

As  he  passed  the  gate,  he  secured  his  money, 
and  placed  it  in  the  secret  receptacle  of  his  jacket. 
After  he  had  delivered  the  letter,  he  took  the  road 
and  hastened  off  in  the  direction  of  the  wood. 
His  heart  beat  wildly  at  the  prospect  of  once 
more  meeting  his  mother,  after  nearly  four  weeks' 
absence.  Annie  Lee  would  welcome  him;  she 
would  not  believe  that  he  was  a  thief. 

He  had  been  four  days  an  inmate  of  the  Reform 
School,  and  nothing  but  the  hope  of  soon  attain 
ing  his  liberty  had  kept  his  spirits  from  drooping. 
He  had  not  for  a  moment  despaired  of  getting 
away. 

He  reached  the  entrance  to  the  wood,  and  tak- 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  B1UGHT      245 

ing  a  cart  path,  began  to  penetrate  its  hidden 
depths.  The  night  darkened  upon  him ;  he  heard 
the  owl  screech  his  dismal  note,  and  the  whip- 
poor-will  chant  his  cheery  song.  A  certain  sense 
of  security  now  pervaded  his  mind,  for  the  dark 
ness  concealed  him  from  the  world,  and  he  had 
placed  six  good  miles  between  him  and  the  prison, 
as  he  considered  it. 

He  walked  on,  however,  till  he  came  to  what 
seemed  to  be  the  end  of  the  wood,  and  he  hoped 
to  reach  the  blue  ocean  he  had  seen  in  the  distance 
before  morning.  Leaving  the  forest,  he  emerged 
into  the  open  country.  There  was  here  and  there 
a  house  before  him ;  but  the  aspect  of  the  country 
seemed  strangely  familiar  to  him.  He  could  not 
understand  it.  He  had  never  been  in  this  part  of 
the  country  before ;  yet  there  was  a  great  house 
with  two  barns  by  the  side  of  it,  which  he  was  pos 
itive  he  had  seen  before. 

He  walked  across  the  field  a  little  farther,  when, 
to  his  astonishment  and  dismay,  he  beheld  the 
lofty  turrets  of  the  State  Reform  School.  He  had 


246  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

been  walking  in  a  circle,  and  had  come  out  of  the 
forest  near  the  place  where  he  had  entered  it. 

Bobby,  as  the  reader  has  found  out  by  this  time, 
was  a  philosopher  as  well  as  a  hero ;  and  instead 
of  despairing  or  wasting  his  precious  time  in  vain 
regrets  at  his  mistake,  he  laughed  a  little  to  him 
self  at  the  blunder,  and  turned  back  into  the 
woods  again. 

"  Now  or  never ! "  muttered  he.  "  It  will  never 
do  to  give  it  up  so." 

For  an  hour  he  walked  on,  with  his  eyes  fixed 
on  a  great  bright  star  in  the  sky.  Then  he  found 
that  the  cart  path  crooked  round,  and  he  discov 
ered  where  he  had  made  his  blunder.  Leaving 
the  road,  he  made  his  way  in  a  straight  line,  still 
guided  by  the  star,  till  he  came  to  a  large  sheet  of 
water. 

The  sheet  of  water  was  an  effectual  barrier  to 
his  farther  progress ;  indeed,  he  was  so  tired  he  did 
not  feel  able  to  walk  any  more.  He  deemed  him 
self  safe  from  immediate  pursuit  in  this  secluded 
place.  He  needed  rest,  and  he  toresaw  that  the 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      247 

next  few  days  would  be  burdened  with  fatigue 
and  hardship  which  he  must  be  prepared  to  meet. 

Bobby  was  not  nice  about  trifles,  and  his  habits 
were  such  that  he  had  no  fear  of  taking  cold. 
His  comfortable  bed  in  the  little  black  house  was 
preferable  to  the  cold  ground,  even  with  the  pri 
meval  forest  for  a  chamber ;  but  circumstances  alter 
cases,  and  he  did  not  waste  any  vain  regrets  about 
the  necessity  of  his  position.  After  finding  a  se 
cluded  spot  in  the  wood,  he  raked  the  dry  leaves 
together  for  a  bed,  and  offering  his  simple  but 
fervent  prayer  to  the  Great  Guardian  above,  he 
lay  down  to  rest.  The  owl  screamed  his  dismal 
note,  and  the  whip-poor-will  still  repeated  his 
monotonous  song;  but  they  were  good  company 
in  the  solitude  of  the  dark  forest. 

He  could  not  go  to  sleep  for  a  time,  so  strange 
and  exciting  were  the  circumstances  of  his  position. 
He  thought  of  a  thousand  things,  but  he  could  not 
think  himself  to  sleep,  as  he  was  wont  to  do.  At 
last  nature,  worn  out  by  fatigue  and  anxiety,  con 
quered  the  circumstances,  and  he  slept. 


248  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN  WHICH  BOBBY    HAS    A    NARROW  ESCAPE,   AND 
GOES  TO  SEA  WITH   SAM  RAY 

NATURE  was  kind  to  the  little  pilgrim  in  his 
extremity,  and  kept  his  senses  sealed  in  grateful 
slumber  till  the  birds  had  sung  their  matin  song, 
and  the  sun  had  risen  high  in  the  heavens. 

Bobby  woke  with  a  start,  and  sprang  to  his 
feet.  For  a  moment  he  did  not  realize  where 
he  was,  or  remember  the  exciting  incidents  of  the 
previous  evening.  He  felt  refreshed  by  his  deep 
slumber,  and  came  out  of  it  as  vigorous  as  though 
he  had  slept  in  his  bed  at  home.  Rubbing  his 
eyes,  he  stared  about  him  at  the  tall  pines  whose 
foliage  canopied  his  bed,  and  his  identity  was 
soon  restored  to  him.  He  was  Bobby  Bright  — 
but  Bobby  Bright  in  trouble.  He  was  not  the 
little  merchant,  but  the  little  fugitive  fleeing  from 
the  prison  to  which  he  had  been  doomed. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      249 

It  did  not  take  him  long  to  make  his  toilet, 
which  was  the  only  advantage  of  his  primitive 
style  of  lodging.  His  first  object  was  to  examine 
his  position,  and  ascertain  in  what  direction  he 
should  continue  his  flight.  He  could  not  go 
ahead,  as  he  had  intended,  for  the  sheet  of  water 
was  an  impassable  barrier.  Leaving  the  dense 
forest,  he  came  to  a  marsh,  beyond  which  was  the 
wide  creek  he  had  seen  in  the  night.  It  was  salt 
water,  and  he  reasoned  that  it  could  not  extend 
a  great  way  inland.  His  only  course  was  to 
follow  it  till  he  found  means  of  crossing  it. 

Following  the  direction  of  the  creek  he  kept 
near  the  margin  of  the  wood  till  he  came  to  a 
public  road.  He  had  some  doubts  about  trusting 
himself  out  of  the  forest,  even  for  a  single 
moment;  so  he  seated  himself  upon  a  rock  to 
argue  the  point.  If  any  one  should  happen  to 
come  along,  he  was  almost  sure  of  furnishing  a 
clew  to  his  future  movements,  if  not  of  being 
immediately  captured. 

This  was  a  very  strong  argument,  but  there 


250  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

was  a  stronger  one  upon  the  other  side.  He  had 
eaten  nothing  since  dinner  on  the  preceding  day, 
and  he  began  to  feel  faint  for  the  want  of  food. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  creek  he  saw  a  pasture 
which  looked  as  though  it  might  afford  him  a 
few  berries ;  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  taking  to 
the  road,  when  he  heard  the  rumbling  of  a  wagon 
in  the  distance. 

His  heart  beat  with  apprehension.  Perhaps  it 
was  some  officer  of  the  institution  in  search  of 
him.  At  any  rate  it  was  some  one  who  had  come 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  Reform  School,  and  who 
had  probably  heard  of  his  escape.  As  it  came 
nearer,  he  heard  the  jingling  of  bells ;  it  was  the 
baker.  How  he  longed  for  a  loaf  of  his  bread, 
or  some  of  the  precious  gingerbread  he  carried 
in  his  cart!  Hunger  tempted  him  to  run  the 
risk  of  exposure.  He  had  money;  he  could  buy 
cakes  and  bread;  and  perhaps  the  baker  had  a 
kind  heart,  and  would  befriend  him  in  his  dis 
tress.  The  wagon  was  close  at  hand. 

"  Now  or  never,"  thought  he ;  but  this  time  it 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      251 

was  not  now.  The  risk  was  too  great.  If  he 
failed  now,  two  years  of  captivity  were  before 
him ;  and  as  for  the  hunger,  he  could  grin  and 
bear  it  for  a  while. 

"Now  or  never;"  but  this  time  it  was  escape 
now  or  never ;  and  he  permitted  the  baker  to  pass 
without  hailing  him. 

He  waited  half  an  hour,  and  then  determined 
to  take  the  road  till  he  had  crossed  the  creek. 
The  danger  was  great,  but  the  pangs  of  hunger 
urged  him  on.  He  was  sure  there  were  berries 
in  the  pasture,  and  with  a  timid  step,  carefully 
watching  before  and  behind  to  insure  himself 
against  surprise,  he  crossed  the  bridge.  But  then 
a  new  difficulty  presented  itself.  There  was  a 
house  within  ten  rods  of  the  bridge,  which  he 
must  pass,  and  to  do  so  would  expose  him  to  the 
most  imminent  peril.  He  was  on  the  point  of 
retreating,  when  a  man  came  out  of  the  house, 
and  approached  him.  What  should  he  do?  It 
was  a  trying  moment.  If  he  ran,  the  act  would 
expose  him  to  suspicion.  If  he  went  forward, 


252  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OB, 

the  man  might  have  already  received  a  descrip 
tion  of  him,  and  arrest  him. 

He  chose  the  latter  course.  The  instinct  of 
his  being  was  to  do  everything  in  a  straight 
forward  manner,  and  this  probably  prompted  his 
decision. 

"Good  morning,  sir,"  said  he  boldly  to  the 
man. 

"Good  morning.  Where  are  you  travel- 
ling?" 

This  was  a  hard  question.  He  did  not  know 
where  he  was  travelling ;  besides,  even  in  his 
present  difficult  position,  he  could  not  readily 
resort  to  a  lie. 

"Down  here  a  piece,"  he  replied. 

"Travelled  far  to-day?" 

"Not  far.  Good  morning,  sir;"  and  Bobby 
resumed  his  walk. 

"  I  say,  boy,  suppose  you  tell  me  where  you 
are  going ; "  and  the  man  came  close  to  him, 
and  deliberately  surveyed  him  from  head  to 
foot. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      253 

"I  can  hardly  tell  you,"  replied  Bobby,  sum 
moning  courage  for  the  occasion. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  not,"  added  the  man,  with 
a  meaning  smile. 

Bobby  felt  his  strength  desert  him  as  he  real 
ized  that  he  was  suspected  of  being  a  runaway 
from  the  Reform  School.  That  smile  on  the 
man's  face  was  the  knell  of  hope;  and  for  a 
moment  he  felt  a  flood  of  misery  roll  over  his 
soul.  But  the  natural  elasticity  of  his  spirits 
soon  came  to  his  relief,  and  he  resolved  not  to 
give  up  the  ship,  even  if  he  had  to  fight  for  it. 

"  I  am  in  a  hurry,  so  I  shall  have  to  leave 
you." 

"Not  just  yet,  young  man.  Perhaps,  as  you 
don't  know  where  you  are  going,  you  may  re 
member  what  your  name  is,"  continued  the  man, 
good  naturedly. 

There  was  a  temptation  to  give  a  false  name; 
but  as  it  was  so  strongly  beaten  into  our  hero 
that  the  truth  is  better  than  a  falsehood,  he 
held  his  peace. 


254  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"Excuse  me,  sir,  but  I  can't  stop  to  talk 
now." 

"In  a  hurry?  Well,  I  dare  say  you  are.  I 
suppose  there  is  no  doubt  but  you  are  Master 
Robert  Bright." 

"Not  the  least,  sir;  I  haven't  denied  it  yet, 
and  I  am  not  ashamed  of  my  name,"  replied 
Bobby,  with  a  good  deal  of  spirit. 

"That's  honest;  I  like  that." 

"'Honesty  is  the  best  policy,'"  added  Bobby. 

"That's  cool  for  a  rogue,  anyhow.  You 
ought  to  thought  of  that  afore." 

"  I  did." 

"And  stole  the  money?" 

"I  didn't.    I  never  stole  a  penny  in  my  life." 

"Come,  I  like  that." 

"It  is  the  truth." 

"But  they  won't  believe  it  over  to  the  Re 
form  School,"  laughed  the  man. 

"They  will  one  of  these  days,  perhaps." 

"  You  are  a  smart  youngster ;  but  I  don't 
know  as  I  can  make  five  dollars  any  easier 


THE  ADVENTUEES   OF  BOBBY  B EIGHT      255 

than  by  taking  you  back  where  you  come 
from." 

"  Yes,  you  can,"  replied  Bobby,  promptly. 

"Can  I?" 

"Yes." 

"How?" 

"By  letting  me  go." 

"Eh;  you  talk  flush.  I  suppose  you  mean 
to  give  me  your  note,  payable  when  the  Kenne- 
bec  dries  up." 

"  Cash  on  the  nail,"  replied  Bobby.  "  You 
look  like  a  man  with  a  heart  in  your  bosom," 
—  Bobby  stole  this  passage  from  "The  Way 
farer." 

"I  reckon  I  have.  The  time  hasn't  come  yet 
when  Sam  Ray  could  see  a  fellow-creature  in 
distress  and  not  help  him  out.  But  to  help  a 
thief  off " 

"We  will  argue  that  matter,"  interposed 
Bobby.  "I  can  prove  to  you  beyond  a  doubt 
that  I  am  innocent  of  the  crime  charged  upon 
me." 


256  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

"You  don't  look  like  a  bad  boy,  I  must 
say." 

"But,  Mr.  Ray,  I'm  hungry;  I  haven't  eaten 
a  mouthful  since  yesterday  noon." 

"  Thunder !  You  don't  say  so ! "  exclaimed 
Sam  Ray.  "  I  never  could  bear  to  see  a  man 
hungry,  much  more  a  boy;  so  come  along  to 
my  house  and  get  something  to  eat,  and  we  will 
talk  about  the  other  matter  afterwards." 

Sam  Ray  took  Bobby  to  the  little  old  house 
in  which  he  dwelt ;  and  in  a  short  time  his  wife, 
who  expressed  her  sympathy  for  the  little  fugi 
tive  in  the  warmest  terms,  had  placed  an  abun 
dant  repast  upon  the  table.  Our  hero  did  ample 
justice  to  it,  and  when  he  had  finished  he  felt 
like  a  new  creature. 

"Now,  Mr.  Ray,  let  me  tell  you  my  story," 
said  Bobby. 

"  I  don't  know  as  it's  any  use.  Now  you  have 
eat  my  bread  and  butter,  I  don't  feel  like  being 
mean  to  you.  If  anybody  else  wants  to  carry 
you  back,  they  may ;  I  won't." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  SOS  BY  S  EIGHT      257 

"  But  you  shall  hear  me ; "  and  Bobby  pro 
ceeded  to  deliver  his  "plain,  unvarnished  tale." 

When  he  had  progressed  but  a  little  way  in 
the  narrative,  the  noise  of  an  approaching  vehi 
cle  was  heard.  Sam  looked  out  of  the  window, 
as  almost  everybody  does  in  the  country  when 
a  carriage  passes. 

"  By  thunder !  It's  the  Reform  School  wagon ! " 
exclaimed  he.  "This  way,  boy!"  and  the  good- 
hearted  man  thrust  him  into  his  chamber,  bid 
ding  him  get  under  the  bed. 

The  carriage  stopped  at  the  house;  but  Sam 
evaded  a  direct  reply,  and  the  superintendent 
—  for  it  was  he  —  proceeded  on  his  search. 

"  Heaven  bless  you,  Mr.  Ray ! "  exclaimed 
Bobby,  when  he  came  out  of  the  chamber,  as  the 
tears  of  gratitude  coursed  down  his  cheeks. 

"O,  you  will  find  Sam  Ray  all  right,"  said 
he,  warmly  pressing  Bobby's  proffered  hand.  "I 
ain't  quite  a  heathen,  though  some  folks  around 
here  think  so." 

"  You  are  an  angel  I " 


258  NOW  OB  NEVE  ft;   OB, 

"Not  exactly,"  laughed  Sam. 

Our  hero  finished  his  story,  and  confirmed  it 
by  exhibiting  his  account  book  and  some  other 
papers  which  he  had  retained.  Sam  Ray  was 
satisfied,  and  vowed  that  if  ever  he  saw  Tom 
Spicer  he  would  certainly  "lick"  him  for  his 
sake. 

"Now,  sonny,  I  like  you;  I  will  be  sworn 
you  are  a  good  fellow  ;  and  I  mean  to  help  you 
off.  So  just  come  along  with  me.  I  make  my 
living  by  browsing  round,  hunting  and  fishing 
a  little,  and  doing  an  odd  job  now  and  then. 
You  see,  I  have  got  a  good  boat  down  the  creek, 
and  I  shall  just  put  you  aboard  and  take  you 
anywhere  you  have  a  mind  to  go." 

"May  Heaven  reward  you!"  cried  Bobby, 
almost  overcome  by  this  sudden  and  unexpected 
kindness. 

"  O,  I  don't  want  no  reward ;  only  when  you 
get  to  be  a  great  man  —  and  I  am  dead  sure  you 
will  be  a  great  man  —  just  think  now  and  then 
of  Sam  Ray,  and  it's  all  right." 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      259 

"I  shall  remember  you  with  gratitude  as  long 
as  I  live." 

Sam  Ray  took  his  gun  on  his  shoulder,  and 
Bobby  the  box  of  provisions  which  Mrs.  Ray 
had  put  up,  and  they  left  the  house.  At  the 
bridge  they  got  into  a  little  skiff,  and  Sam  took 
the  oars.  After  they  had  passed  a  bend  in  the 
creek  which  concealed  them  from  the  road, 
Bobby  felt  secure  from  further  molestation. 

Sam  pulled  about  two  miles  down  the  creek, 
where  it  widened  into  a  broad  bay,  near  the  head 
of  which  was  anchored  a  small  schooner. 

"Now,  my  hearty,  nothing  short  of  Uncle 
Sam's  whole  navy  can  get  you  away  from  me," 
said  Sam,  as  he  pulled  alongside  the  schooner. 

"You  have  been  very  kind  to  me." 

"All  right,  sonny.     Now  tumble  aboard." 

Bobby  jumped  upon  the  deck  of  the  little  craft 
and  Sam  followed  him,  after  making  fast  the  skiff 
to  the  schooner's  moorings. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  little  vessel  was  standing 
down  the  bay  with  "  a  fresh  wind  and  a  flowing 


260  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

sheet."  Bobby,  who  had  never  been  in  a  sail  boat 
before,  was  delighted,  and  in  no  measured  terms 
expressed  his  admiration  of  the  working  of  the 
trim  little  craft. 

"Now,  sonny,  where  shall  we  go?"  asked  Sam, 
as  they  emerged  from  the  bay  into  the  broad 
ocean. 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Bobby.  "I  want  to 
get  back  to  Boston." 

"  Perhaps  I  can  put  you  aboard  of  some  coaster 
bound  there." 

"That  will  do  nicely." 

"I  will  head  towards  Boston,  and  if  I  don't 
overhaul  anything,  I  will  take  you  there  myself." 
1  *'  Is  this  boat  big  enough  to  go  so  far  ?  " 

"She'll  stand  anything  short  of  a  West  India 
hurricane.  You  ain't  afeard,  are  you?" 

"O,  no;  I  like  it." 

The  big  waves  now  tossed  the  little  vessel  up 
and  down  like  a  feather,  and  the  huge  seas  broke 
upon  the  bow,  deluging  her  deck  with  floods  of 
water.  Bobby  had  unlimited  confidence  in  Sam 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      261 

Ray,  and  felt  as  much  at  home  as  -though  he  had 
been  "cradled  upon  the  briny  deep."  There  was 
an  excitement  in  the  scene  which  accorded  with 
his  nature,  and  the  perils  which  he  had  so  pain 
fully  pictured  on  the  preceding  night  were  all 
born  into  the  most  lively  joys. 

They  ate  their  dinners  from  the  provision  box ; 
Sam  lighted  his  pipe,  and  many  a  tale  he  told  of 
adventure  by  sea  and  land.  .  Bobby  felt  happy, 
and  almost  dreaded  the  idea  of  parting  with  his 
rough  but  good-hearted  friend.  They  were  now 
far  out  at  sea,  and  the  night  was  coming  on. 

"  Now,  sonny,  you  had  better  turn  in  and  take 
a  snooze;  you  didn't  rest  much  last  night." 

"I  am  not  sleepy;  but  there  is  one  thing  I 
will  do ; "  and  Bobby  drew  from  his  secret  recep 
tacle  his  roll  of  bills. 

"Put  them  up,  sonny,"  said  Sam. 

"  I  want  to  make  you  a  present  of  ten  dollars." 

"You  can't  do  it." 

"Nay,  but  to  please  me." 

"No,  sir!" 


262  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

"  Well,  then?  let  me  send  it  to  your  good  wife." 

"  You  can't  do  that,  nuther,"  replied  Sam, 
gazing  earnestly  at  a  lumber-laden  schooner 
ahead  of  him. 

"You  must;  your  good  heart  made  you  lose 
five  dollars,  and  I  insist  upon  making  it  up  to 
you." 

"You  can't  do  it." 

"I  shall  feel  bad  if  you  don't  take  it.  You 
see  I  have  twenty  dollars  here,  and  I  would  like 
to  give  you  the  whole  of  it." 

"  Not  a  cent,  sonny.  I  ain't  a  heathen.  That 
schooner  ahead  is  bound  for  Boston,  I  reckon." 

"I  shall  be  sorry  to  part  with  you,  Mr.  Ray." 

"Just  my  sentiment.  I  hain't  seen  a  young 
ster  afore  for  many  a  day  that  I  took  a  fancy  to, 
and  I  hate  to  let  you  go." 

"We  shall  meet  again." 

"I  hope  so." 

"Please  to  take  this  money." 

"No;"  and  Sam  shook  his  head  so  resolutely 
that  Bobby  gave  up  the  point. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      263 

As  Sam  had  conjectured,  the  lumber  schooner 
was  bound  to  Boston.  Her  captain  readily  agreed 
to  take  our  hero  on  board,  and  he  sadly  bade 
adieu  to  his  kind  friend. 

"Good  by,  Mr.  -Ray,"  said  Bobby,  as  the 
schooner  rilled  away.  "Take  this  to  remember 
me  by." 

It  was  his  jackknife;  but  Sam  did  not  dis 
cover  the  ten  dollar  bill,  which  was  shut  beneath 
the  blade,  till  it  was  too  late  to  return  it. 

Bobby  did  not  cease  to  wave  his  hat  to  Sam  till 
his  little  craft  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 


264  NOW  OR  NEVER,-   OR, 


CHAPTER  XX 

IN  WHICH  THE  CLOUDS  BLOW   OVER,  AND  BOBBY 
IS  HIMSELF  AGAIN 

FORTUNATELY  for  Bobby,  the  wind  began  to 
blow  very  heavily  soon  after  he  went  on  board  of 
the  lumber  schooner,  so  that  the  captain  was  too 
much  engaged  in  working  his  vessel  to  ask  many 
questions.  He  was  short  handed,  and  though  our 
hero  was  not  much  of  a  sailor  he  made  himself 
useful  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  Though  the  wind 
was  heavy,  it  was  not  fair;  and  it  was  not  till 
the  third  morning  after  his  parting  with  Sam  Ray 
that  the  schooner  arrived  off  Boston  Light.  The 
captain  then  informed  him  that,  as  the  tide  did 
not  favor  him,  he  might  not  get  up  to  the  city 
for  twenty-four  hours ;  and,  if  he  was  in  a  hurry, 
he  would  put  him  on  board  a  pilot  boat  which  he 
saw  standing  up  the  channel. 

"Thank  you,  captain;   you  are  very  kind,  but 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      265 

it  would  give  you  a  great  deal  of  trouble,"  said 
Bobby. 

"None  at  all.  We  must  wait  here  till 
the  tide  turns;  so  we  have  nothing  better  to 
do." 

"I  should  be  very  glad  to  get  up  this  morn 
ing." 

"  You  shall,  then ; "  and  the  captain  ordered 
two  men  to  get  out  the  jolly  boat. 

"I  will  pay  my  passage  now,  if  you  please." 

"That  is  paid." 

"Paid?" 

"I  should  say  you  had  worked  your  passage. 
You  have  done  very  well,  and  I  shall  not  charge 
you  anything." 

"  I  expected  to  pay  my  passage,  captain ;  but 
if  you  think  I  have  done  enough  to  pay  it,  why 
I  have  nothing  to  say,  only  that  I  am  very  much 
obliged  to  you." 

"  You  ought  to  be  a  sailor,  young  man ;  you 
were  cut  out  for  one." 

"I  like  the  sea,  though  I  never  saw  it  till  a 


266  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

few  weeks  since.  But  I  suppose  my  mother 
would  not  let  me  go  to  sea." 

"I  suppose  not;  mothers  are  always  afraid  of 
salt  water." 

By  this  time  the  jolly  boat  was  alongside; 
and  bidding  the  captain  adieu,  he  jumped  into 
it,  and  the  men  pulled  him  to  the  pilot  boat, 
which  had  come  up  into  the  wind  at  the  cap 
tain's  hail.  Bobby  was  kindly  received  on 
board,  and  in  a  couple  of  hours  landed  at  the 
wharf  in  Boston. 

With  a  beating  heart  he  made  his  way  up  into 
Washington  Street.  He  felt  strangely ;  his  cheeks 
seemed  to  tingle,  for  he  was  aware  that  the  impu 
tation  of  dishonesty  was  fastened  upon  him.  He 
could  not  doubt  but  that  the  story  of  his  alleged 
crime  had  reached  the  city,  and  perhaps  gone  to 
his  friends  in  Riverdale.  How  his  poor  mother 
must  have  wept  to  think  her  son  was  a  thief ! 
No;  she  never  could  have  thought  that.  She 
knew  he  would  not  steal,  if  no  one  else  did.  And 
Annie  Lee — would  she  ever  smile  upon  him 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      267 

again?  Would  she  welcome  him  to  her  father's 
house  so  gladly  as  she  had  done  in  the  past?  He 
could  bring  nothing  to  establish  his  innocence  but 
his  previous  character.  Would  not  Mr.  Bayard 
frown  upon  him?  Would  not  even  Ellen  be 
tempted  to  forget  the  service  he  had  rendered 
her? 

Bobby  had  thought  of  all  these  things  before  — 
on  his  cold,  damp  bed  in  the  forest,  in  the  watches 
of  the  tempestuous  night  on  board  the  schooner. 
But  now,  when  he  was  almost  in  the  presence  of 
those  he  loved  and  respected,  they  had  more  force, 
and  they  nearly  overwhelmed  him. 

"  I  am  innocent,"  he  repeated  to  himself,  "  and 
why  need  I  fear?  My  good  Father  in  heaven 
will  not  let  me  be  wronged." 

Yet  he  could  not  overcome  his  anxiety;  and 
when  he  reached  the  store  of  Mr.  Bayard,  he 
passed  by,  dreading  to  face  the  friend  who  had 
been  so  kind  to  him.  He  could  not  bear  even  to 
be  suspected  of  a  crime  by  him. 

"  Now  or  never,"  said  he,  as  he  turned  round. 


268  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

"  I  will  know  my  fate  at  once,  and  then  make  the 
lest  of  it." 

Mustering  all  his  courage,  he  entered  the  store. 
Mr.  Timmins  was  not  there ;  so  he  was  spared  the 
infliction  of  any  ill-natured  remark  from  him. 

"Hallo,  Bobby!"  exclaimed  the  gentlemanly 
salesman,  whose  acquaintance  he  had  made  on  his 
first  visit. 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Bigelow,"  replied  Bobby 
with  as  much  boldness  as  he  could  command. 

"I  didn't  know  as  I  should  ever  see  you 
again.  You  have  been  gone  a  long  while." 

"Longer  than  usual,"  answered  Bobby,  with 
a  blush ;  for  he  considered  the  remark  of  the 
salesman  as  an  allusion  to  his  imprisonment. 
"Is  Mr.  Bayard  in?" 

"He  is  —  in  his  office." 

Bobby*s  feet  would  hardly  obey  the  mandate 
of  his  will,  and  with  a  faltering  step  he  en 
tered  the  private  room  of  the  bookseller.  Mr. 
Bayard  was  absorbed  in  the  perusal  of  the 
morning  paper,  and  did  not  observe  his  en- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      269 

trance.  With  his  heart  up  in  his  throat,  and 
almost  choking  him,  he  stood  for  several  min 
utes  upon  the  threshold.  He  almost  feared 
to  speak,  dreading  the  severe  frown  with 
which  he  expected  to  be  received.  Suspense, 
however,  was  more  painful  than  condemnation, 
and  he  brought  his  resolution  up  to  the  point. 

"Mr.  Bayard,"  said  he,  in  faltering  tones. 

"Bobby!"  exclaimed  the  bookseller,  dropping 
his  paper  upon  the  floor,  and  jumping  upon 
his  feet  as  though  an  electric  current  had 
passed  through  his  frame. 

Grasping  our  hero's  hand,  he  shook  it  with 
so  much  energy  that,  under  any  other  circum 
stances,  Bobby  would  have  thought  it  hurt 
him.  He  did  not  think  so  now. 

"My  poor  Bobby!  I  am  delighted  to  see 
you !  "  continued  Mr.  Bayard. 

Bobby  burst  into  tears,  and  sobbed  like 
a  child,  as  he  was.  The  unexpected  kindness 

•ar,    " 

of  this  reception  completely  overwhelmed  him. 
"Don't   cry,   Bobby;   I   know   all    about    it;" 


270  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OJR, 

and  the  tender-hearted  bookseller  wiped  away 
his  tears.  "  It  was  a  stroke  of  misfortune ;  but 
it  is  all  right  now." 

But  Bobby  could  not  help  crying,  and  the 
more  Mr.  Bayard  attempted  to  console  him, 
the  more  he  wept. 

"I  am  innocent,  Mr.  Bayard,"  he  sobbed. 

"I  know  you  are,  Bobby;  and  all  the  world 
knows  you  are." 

"I  am  ruined  now;  I  shall  never  dare  to 
hold  my  head  up  again." 

"Nonsense,  Bobby;  you  will  hold  your  head 
the  higher.  You  have  behaved  like  a  hero." 

"I  ran  away  from  the  State  Reform  School, 
sir.  I  was  innocent,  and  I  would  rather  have 
died  than  stayed  there." 

"I  know  all  about  it,  my  young  friend. 
Now  dry  your  tears,  and  we  will  talk  it  all 
over." 

Bobby  blew  and  sputtered  a  little  more; 
but  finally  he  composed  himself,  and  took  a 
chair  by  Mr.  Bayard's  side.  The  bookseller 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      271 

then  drew  from  his  pocket  a  ponderous  docu 
ment,  with  a  big  official  seal  upon  it,  and 
exhibited  it  to  our  hero. 

"Do  you  see  this,  Bobby?  It  is  your  free 
and  unconditional  pardon." 

"Sir!     Why " 

"It  will  all  end  well,  you  may  depend." 

Bobby  was  amazed.  His  pardon?  But  it 
would  not  restore  his  former  good  name.  He 
felt  that  lie  was  branded  as  a  felon.  It  was 
not  mercy,  but  justice,  that  he  wanted. 

"  Truth  is  mighty,  and  will  prevail,"  con 
tinued  Mr.  Bayard;  "and  this  document  re 
stores  your  reputation." 

"I  can  hardly  believe  that." 

"Can't  you?  Hear  my  story  then.  When 
I  read  in  one  of  the  Maine  papers  the  ac 
count  of  your  misfortune,  I  felt  that  you 
had  been  grossly  wronged.  You  were  coupled 
with  that  Tom  Spicer,  who  is  the  most  con 
summate  little  villain  I  ever  saw,  and  I  under 
stood  your  situation.  Ah,  Bobby,  your  only 


272  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OR, 

mistake  was  in  having  anything  to  do  with  that 
fellow." 

"I  left  him  at  Brunswick  because  he  began 
to  behave  badly;  but  he  joined  me  again  at 
Augusta.  He  had  spent  nearly  all  his  money, 
and  did  not  know  what  to  do.  I  pitied  him, 
and  meant  to  do  something  to  help  him  out 
of  the  scrape." 

"Generous  as  ever!  I  have  heard  all  about 
this  before." 

"Indeed;  who  told  you?" 

"Tom  Spicer  himself." 

"Tom?"  asked  Bobby,  completely  mystified. 

"  Yes,  Tom ;  you  see,  when  I  heard  about 
your  trouble,  Squire  Lee  and  myself " 

"  Squire  Lee  ?    Does  he  know  about  it  ?  " 

"  He  does ;  and  you  may  depend  upon  it,  he 
thinks  more  highly  of  you  than  ever  before. 
He  and  I  immediately  went  down  to  Augusta 
to  inquire  into  the  matter.  We  called  upon 
the  governor  of  the  state,  who  said  that  he 
had  seen  you,  and  bought  a  book  of  you." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      273 

"Of  me!"  exclaimed  Bobby,  startled  to  think 
he  had  sold  a  book  to  a  governor. 

"Yes;  you  called  at  his  house;  probably 
you  did  not  know  that  he  was  the  chief 
magistrate  of  the  state.  At  any  rate,  he  was 
very  much  pleased  with  you,  and  sorry  to 
hear  of  your  misfortune.  Well,  we  followed 
your  route  to  Brunswick,  where  we  ascertained 
how  Tom  had  conducted.  In  a  week  he  es 
tablished  a  very  bad  reputation  there;  but 
nothing  could  be  found  to  implicate  you.  The 
squire  testified  to  your  uniform  good  behavior, 
and  especially  to  your  devotion  to  your  mother. 
In  short,  we  procured  your  pardon,  and  hast 
ened  with  it  to  the  State  Reform  School. 

"On  our  arrival,  we  learned,  to  our  surprise 
and  regret,  that  you  had  escaped  from  the 
institution  on  the  preceding  evening.'  Every 
effort  was  made  to  retake  you,  but  with 
out  success.  Ah,  Bobby,  you  managed  that 
well." 

"They  didn't  look    in   the  right   place,"  re- 


274  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

plied  Bobby,  with  a  smile,  for  he  began  to  feel 
happy  again. 

"  By  the  permission  of  the  superintendent, 
Squire  Lee  and  myself  examined  Tom  Spicer. 
He  is  a  great  rascal.  Perhaps  he  thought  we 
would  get  him  out;  so  he  made  a  clean  breast 
of  it,  and  confessed  that  you  had  no  hand  in 
the  robbery,  and  that  you  knew  nothing  about  it. 
He  gave  you  the  two  bills  on  purpose  to  im 
plicate  you  in  the  crime.  We  wrote  down  his 
statement,  and  had  it  sworn  to  before  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  You  shall  read  it  by  and  by." 

"May  Heaven  reward  you  for  your  kindness 
to  a  poor  boy!"  exclaimed  Bobby,  the  tears 
flowing  down  his  cheeks  again.  "  I  did  not 
deserve  so  much  from  you,  Mr.  Bayard." 

"Yes,  you  did,  and  a  thousand  times  more. 
I  was  very  sorry  you  had  left  the  institution, 
and  I  waited  in  the  vicinity  till  they  said  there 
was  no  probability  that  you  would  be  captured. 
The  most  extraordinary  efforts  were  used  to 
find  you;  but  there  was  not  a  person  to  be 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      275 

found  who  had  seen  or  heard  of  you.  I  was 
very  much  alarmed  about  you,  and  offered  a 
hundred  dollars  for  any  information  concern 
ing  you." 

"I  am  sorry  you  had  so  much  trouble.  I 
wish  I  had  known  you  were  there." 

"How  did  you  get  off?" 

Bobby  briefly  related  the  story  of  his  escape, 
and  Mr.  Bayard  pronounced  his  skill  worthy 
of  his  genius. 

"  Sam  Ray  is  a  good  fellow ;  we  will  remem 
ber  him,"  added  the  bookseller,  when  he  had 
finished. 

"I  shall  remember  him;  and  only  that  I 
shall  be  afraid  to  go  into  the  State  of  Maine 
after  what  has  happened,  I  should  pay  him  a 
visit  one  of  these  days." 

"There  you  are  wrong.  Those  who  know 
your  story  would  sooner  think  of  giving  you 
a  public  reception,  than  of  saying  or  doing  any 
thing  to  injure  your  feelings.  Those  who  have 
suffered  unjustly  are  always  lionized." 


276  NOW  OB  NEVER;  OB, 

"But  no  one  will  know  my  story,  only  that 
I  was  sent  to  prison  for  stealing." 

"There  you  are  mistaken  again.  We  put 
articles  in  all  the  principal  papers,  stating  the 
facts  in  the  case,  and  establishing  your  inno 
cence  beyond  a  peradventure.  Go  to  Augusta 
now,  Bobby,  and  you  will  be  a  lion." 

"I  am  sure  I  had  no  idea  of  getting  out  of 
the  scrape  so  easily  as  this." 

"Innocence  shall  triumph,  my  young  friend." 

"What  does  mother  say?"  asked  Bobby,  his 
countenance  growing  sad. 

"I  do  not  know.  We  returned  from  Maine 
only  yesterday ;  but  Squire  Lee  will  satisfy  her. 
All  that  can  worry  her,  as  it  has  worried  me, 
will  be  her  fears  for  your  safety  when  she 
hears  of  your  escape." 

"I  will  soon  set  her  mind  at  ease  upon  that 
point.  I  will  take  the  noon  train  home." 

"A  word  about  business  before  you  go.  I 
discharged  Timmins  about  a  week  ago,  and  I 
have  kept  his  place  for  you." 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      277 

"  By  gracious ! "  exclaimed  Bobby,  thrown  com 
pletely  out  of  his  propriety  by  this  announcement. 

"I  think  you  will  do  better,  in  the  long  run, 
than  you1  would  to  travel  about  the  country.  I 
was  talking  with  Ellen  about  it,  and  she  says  it 
shall  be  so.  Timmins's  salary  was  five  hundred 
dollars  a  year,  and  you  shall  have  the  same." 

"  Five  hundred  dollars  a  year ! "  ejaculated 
Bobby,  amazed  at  the  vastness  of  the  sum. 

"Very  well  for  a  boy  of  thirteen,  Bobby." 

"I  was  fourteen  last  Sunday,  sir." 

"I  would  not  give  any  other  boy  so  much; 
but  you  are  worth  it,  and  you  shall  have  it." 

Probably  Mr.  Bayard's  gratitude  had  some 
thing  to  do  with  this  munificent  offer;  but  he 
knew  that  our  hero  possessed  abilities  and  en 
ergy  far  beyond  his  years.  He  further  informed 
Bobby  that  he  should  have'  a  room  at  his 
house,  and  that  Ellen  was  delighted  with  the 
arrangement  he  proposed. 

The  gloomy,  threatening  clouds  were  all 
rolled  back,  and  floods  of  sunshine  streamed  in 


278  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

upon  the  soul  of  the  little  merchant;  but  in 
the  midst  of  his  rejoicing  he  remembered  that 
his  own  integrity  had  carried  him  safely 
through  the  night  of  sorrow  and  dout>t.  He 
had  been  true  to  himself,  and  now,  in  the  hour 
of  his  great  triumph,  he  realized  that,  if  he  had 
been  faithless  to  the  light  within  him,  his  laurel 
would  have  been  a  crown  of  thorns. 

He  was  happy  —  very  happy.  What  made 
him  so?  Not  his  dawning  prosperity;  not  the 
favor  of  Mr.  Bayard;  not  the  handsome  salary 
he  was  to  receive;  for  all  these  things  would 
have  been  but  dross  if  he  had  sacrificed  his 
integrity,  his  love  of  truth  and  uprightness. 
He  had  been  true  to  himself,  and  unseen  angels 
had  held  him  up.  He  had  been  faithful,  and 
the  consciousness  of  his  fidelity  to  principle 
made  a  heaven  within  his  heart. 

It  was  arranged  that  he  should  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  his  new  situation  on  the  follow 
ing  week.  After  settling  with  Mr.  Bayard, 
he  found  he  had  nearly  seventy  dollars  in  his 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      279 

possession;  so  that  in  a  pecuniary  point  of 
view,  if  in  no  other,  his  eastern  excursion  was 
perfectly  satisfactory. 

By  tfre  noon  train  he  departed  for  Riverdale, 
and  in  two  hours  more  he  was  folded  to  his 
mother's  heart.  Mrs.  Bright  wept  for  joy  now, 
as  she  had  before  wept  in  misery  when  she 
heard  of  her  son's  misfortune.  It  took  him  all 
the  afternoon  to  tell  his  exciting  story  to  her, 
and  she  was  almost  beside  herself  when  Bobby 
told  her  about  his  new  situation. 

After  tea  he  hastened  over  to  Squire  Lee's; 
and  my  young  readers  can  imagine  what  a 
warm  reception  he  had  from  father  and 
daughter.  For  the  third  time  that  day  he 
narrated  his  adventures  in  the  east;  and  Annie 
declared  they  were  better  than  any  novel  she 
had  ever  read.  Perhaps  it  was  because  Bobby 
was  the  hero.  It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  before 
he  finished  his  story;  and  when  he  left,  the 
squire  made  him  promise  to  come  over  the  next 
day. 


280  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 


CHAPTER  XXI 

IN    WHICH    BOBBY    STEPS    OFF    THE    STAGE,    AND 
THE  AUTHOR  MUST   FINISH   "NOW   OK  NEVER" 

THE  few  days  which  Bobby  remained  at 
home  before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his 
new  situation  were  agreeably  filled  up  in  call 
ing  upon  his  many  friends,  and  in  visiting 
those  pleasant  spots  in  the  woods  and  by  the 
river,  which  years  of  association  had  rendered 
dear  to  him.  His  plans  for  the  future,  too, 
occupied  some  of  his  time,  though,  inasmuch  as 
his  path  of  duty  was  already  marked  out,  these 
plans  were  but  little  more  than  a  series  of  fond 
imaginings;  in  short,  little  more  than  day 
dreams.  I  have  before  hinted  that  Bobby  was 
addicted  to  castle  building,  and  I  should  pity 
the  man  or  boy  who  was  not  —  who  had  no 
bright  dream  of  future  achievements,  of  future 
usefulness.  "As  a  man  thinketh,  so  is  he,"  the 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      281 

Psalmist  tells  us,  and  it  was  the  pen  of  inspira 
tion  which  wrote  it.  What  a  man  pictures  as 
his  ideal  of  that  which  is  desirable  in  this 
world  and  the  world  to  come,  he  will  endeavor 
to  attain.  Even  if  it  be  no  higher  aim  than 
the  possession  of  wealth  or  fame,  it  is  good 
and  worthy  as  far  as  it  goes.  It  fires  his  brain, 
it  nerves  his  arm.  It  stimulates  him  to  action, 
and  action  is  the  soul  of  progress.  We  must 
all  work;  and  this  world  were  cold  and  dull 
if  it  had  no  bright  dreams  to  be  realized. 
What  Napoleon  dreamed,  he  labored  to  accom 
plish,  and  the  monarchs  of  Europe  trembled 
before  him.  What  Howard  wished  to  be,  he 
labored  to  be ;  his  ideal  was  beautiful  and  true, 
and  he  raised  a  throne  which  will  endure 
through  eternity. 

Bobby  dreamed  great  things.  That  bright 
picture  of  the  little  black  house  transformed 
into  a  white  cottage,  with  green  blinds,  and 
surrounded  by  a  pretty  fence,  was  the  near 
est  object;  and  before  Mrs.  Bright  was  aware 


282  NOW  OR  NEVER;  OR, 

that  he  was  in  earnest,  the  carpenters  and  the 
painters  were  upon  the  spot. 

"Now  or  never,"  replied  Bobby  to  his 
mother's  remonstrance.  "This  is  your  home, 
and  it  shall  be  the  pleasantest  spot  upon  earth, 
if  I  can  make  it  so." 

Then  he  had  to  dream  about  his  business  in 
Boston  and  I  am  not  sure  but  that  he  fancied 
himself  a  rich  merchant,  like  Mr.  Bayard,  living 
in  an  elegant  house  in  Chestnut  Street,  and  hav 
ing  clerks  and  porters  to  do  as  he  bade  them. 
A  great  many  young  men  dream  such  things,  and 
though  they  seem  a  little  silly  when  spoken 
out  loud,  they  are  what  wood  and  water  are  to 
the  steam  engine  —  they  are  the  mainspring  of 
action.  Some  are  stupid  enough  to  dream  about 
these  things,  and  spend  their  time  in  idleness 
and  dissipation,  waiting  for  "  the  good  time  com 
ing."  It  will  never  come  to  them.  They  are 
more  likely  to  die  in  the  almshouse  or  the  state 
prison,  than  to  ride  in  their  carriages;  for  con 
stant  exertion  is  the  price  of  success. 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      283 

Bobby  enjoyed  himself  to  the  utmost  of  his 
capacity  during  these  few  days  of  respite  from 
labor.  He  spent  a  liberal  share  of  his  time  at 
Squire  Lee's,  where  he  was  almost  as  much  at 
home  as  in  his  mother's  house.  Annie  read 
Moore's  Poems  to  him,  till  he  began  to  have 
quite  a  taste  for  poetry  himself. 

In  connection  with  Tom  Spicer's  continued 
absence,  which  had  to  be  explained,  Bobby's 
trials  in  the  eastern  country  leaked  out,  and 
the  consequence  was,  that  he  became  a  lion  in 
Riverdale.  The  minister  invited  him  to  tea,  as 
well  as  other  prominent  persons,  for  the  sake  of 
hearing  his  story;  but  Bobby  declined  the  polite 
invitations  from  sheer  bashfulness.  He  had  not 
brass  enough  to  make  himself  a  hero ;  besides, 
the  remembrance  of  his  journey  was  anything 
but  pleasant  to  him. 

On  Monday  morning  he  took  the  early  train 
for  Boston,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his  situa 
tion  in  Mr.  Bayard's  store.  But  as  I  have  car 
ried  my  hero  through  the  eventful  period  of  his 


284  NOW  OR   NEVER;   OR, 

life,  I  cannot  dwell  upon  his  subsequent  career. 
He  applied  himself  with  all  the  energy  of  his 
nature  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Early  in 
the  morning  and  late  in  the  evening  he  was  at 
his  post.  Mr.  Bigelow  was  his  friend  from  the 
first,  and  gave  him  all  the  instruction  he  re 
quired.  His  intelligence  and  quick  perception 
soon  enabled  him  to  master  the  details  of  the 
business,  and  by  the  time  he  was  fifteen,  he 
was  competent  to  perform  any  service  required 
of  him. 

By  the  advice  of  Mr.  Bayard,  he  attended  an 
evening  school  for  six  months  in  the  year,  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  book  keeping,  and  to 
compensate  for  the  opportunities  of  which  he 
had  been  necessarily  deprived  in  his  earlier 
youth.  He  took  Dr.  Franklin  for  his  model,  and 
used  all  his  spare  time  in  reading  good  books, 
and  in  obtaining  such  information  and  such  men 
tal  culture  as  would  fit  him  to  be,  not  only  a 
good  merchant,  but  a  good  and  true  man. 

Every     Saturday     night     he     went    home     to 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      285 

Riverdale  to  spend  the  Sabbath  with  his 
mother.  The  little  black  house  no  longer 
existed,  for  it  had  become  the  little  paradise  of 
which  he  had  dreamed,  only  that  the  house 
seemed  whiter,  the  blinds  greener,  and  the  fence 
more  attractive  than  his  fancy  had  pictured 
them.  His  mother,  after  a  couple  of  years,  at 
Bobby's  earnest  pleadings,  ceased  to  close  shoes 
and  take  in  washing;  but  she  had  enough  and 
to  spare,  for  her  son's  salary  was  now  six  hun 
dred  dollars.  His  kind  employer  boarded  him 
for  nothing  (much  against  Bobby's  will,  I 
must  say),  so  that  every  month  he  carried  to 
his  mother  thirty  dollars,  which  more  than  paid 
her  expenses. 

Eight  years  have  passed  by  since  Bobby  — 
we  beg  his  pardon,  he  is  now  Mr.  Robert 
Bright  —  entered  the  store  of  Mr.  Bayard.  He 
has  passed  from  the  boy  to  the  man.  Over  the 
street  door  a  new  sign  has  taken  the  place  of 
the  old  one,  and  the  passer-by  reads, — 


286  JVOTF  OR   XEVER;   OR, 

BAYARD  &  BRIGHT, 

BOOKSELLERS   AND   PUBLISHERS. 

The  senior  partner  resorts  to  his  counting 
room  every  morning  from  the  force  of  habit; 
but  he  takes  no  active  part  in  the  business. 
Mr.  Bright  has  frequent  occasion  to  ask  his 
advice,  though  everything  is  directly  managed 
by  him ;  and  the  junior  is  accounted  one  of 
the  ablest,  but  at  the  same  time  one  of  the 
most  honest,  business  men  in  the  city.  His 
integrity  has  never  been  sacrificed,  even  to 
the  emergencies  of  trade.  The  man  is  what 
the  boy  was;  and  we  can  best  sum  up  the 
results  of  his  life  by  saying  that  he  has  been 
true  to  himself,  true  to  his  friends,  and  true 
to  his  God. 

Mrs.  Bright  is  still  living  at  the  little  white 
cottage,  happy  in  herself  and  happy  in  her 
children.  Bobby  —  we  mean  Mr.  Bright  —  has 
hardly  missed  going  to  Riverdale  on  a  Satur 
day  night  since  he  left  home,  eight  years 
before.  He  has  the  same  partiality  for  those 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      287 

famous  apple  pies,  and  his  mother  would  as 
soon  think  of  being  without  bread  as  being 
without  apple  pies  when  he  comes  home. 

Of  course  Squire  Lee  and  Annie  were  always 
glad  to  see  him  when  he  came  to  Riverdale ; 
and  for  two  years  it  had  been  common  talk 
in  Riverdale  that  our  hero  did  not  go  home 
on  Sunday  evening  when  the  clock  struck  nine. 
But  as  this  is  a  forbidden  topic,  we  will  ask 
the  reader  to  go  with  us  to  Mr.  Bayard's  house 
in  Chestnut  Street. 

What !  Annie  Lee  here  ? 

No;  but  as  you  are  here,  allow  me  to  intro 
duce  Mrs.  Robert  Bright. 

They  were  married  a  few  months  before,  and 
Mr.  Bayard  insisted  that  the  happy  couple 
should  make  their  home  at  his  house. 

But  where  is  Ellen  Bayard? 

O,  she  is  Mrs.  Bigelow  now,  and  her  hus 
band  is  at  the  head  of  a  large  book  establish 
ment  in  New  York. 

Bobby's    dream    had    been    realized,    and    he 


288  NOW  OR  NEVER;   OR, 

was  the  happiest  man  in  the  world  —  at  least 
he  thought  so,  which  is  just  the  same  thing. 
He  had  been  successful  in  business;  his  wife  — 
the  friend  and  companion  of  his  youth,  the 
brightest  filament  of  the  bright  vision  his  fancy 
had  woven  —  had  been  won,  and  the  future 
glowed  with  brilliant  promises. 

He  had  been  successful;  but  neither  nor  all 
of  the  things  we  have  mentioned  constituted 
his  highest  and  truest  success — not  his  business 
prosperity,  not  the  bright  promise  of  wealth  in 
store  for  him,  not  his  good  name  among  men, 
not  even  the  beautiful  and  loving  wife  who 
had  cast  her  lot  with  his  to  the  end  of  time. 
These  were  successes,  great  and  worthy,  but 
not  the  highest  success. 

He  had  made  himself  a  man,  —  this  was  his 
real  success,  —  a  true,  a  Christian  man.  He  had 
lived  a  noble  life.  He  had  reared  the  lofty 
structure  of  his  manhood  upon  a  solid  foun 
dation —  principle.  It  is  the  rock  which  the 
winds  of  temptation  and  the  rains  of  selfishness 
cannot  move. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  BOBBY  BRIGHT      289 

Robert  Bright  is  happy  because  he  is  good. 
Tom  Spicer,  now  in  the  state  prison,  is  un 
happy, —  not  because  he  is  in  the  state  prison, 
but  because  the  evil  passions  of  his  nature  are 
at  war  with  the  peace  of  his  soul.  He  has  fed 
the  good  that  was  within  him  upon  straw  and 
husks,  and  starved  it  out.  He  is  a  body  only; 
the  soul  is  dead  in  trespasses  and  sin.  He 
loves  no  one,  and  no  one  loves  him. 

E)uring  the  past  summer,  Mr.  Bright  and 
his  lady  took  a  journey  "down  east."  Annie 
insisted  upon  visiting  the  State  Reform  School; 
and  her  husband  drove  through  the  forest 
by  which  he  had  made  his  escape  on  that 
eventful  night.  Afterwards  they  called  upon 
Sam  Ray,  who  had  been  "dead  sure  that  Bobby 
would  one  day  be  a  great  man."  He  was  about 
the  same  person,  and  was  astonished  and  de 
lighted  when  our  hero  introduced  himself. 

They  spent  a  couple  of  hours  in  talking 
over  the  past,  and  at  his  departure,  Mr.  Bright 
made  him  a  handsome  present  in  such  a  deli- 


290  NOW  OR   NEVER 

cate  manner  that  he  could  not  help  accept 
ing  it. 

Squire  Lee  is  still  as  hale  and  hearty  as 
ever,  and  is  never  so  happy  as  when  Annie 
and  her  husband  come  to  Riverdale  to  spend 
the  Sabbath.  He  is  fully  of  the  opinion  that 
Mr.  Bright  is  the  greatest  man  on  the  west 
ern  continent,  and  he  would  not  be  in  the  least 
surprised  if  he  should  be  elected  President  of 
the  United  States  one  of  these  days. 

The  little  merchant  is  a  great  merchant  now. 
But  more  than  this,  he  is  a  good  man.  He 
has  formed  his  character,  and  he  will  probably 
die  as  he  has  lived. 

Reader,  if  you  have  any  good  work  to  do, 
do  it  now;  for  with  you  it  may  be  "Now  OB 
NEVER." 


DATE  DUE 


KBT'MAR  g 


GAYLORD 


PRINTED  IN  U    S    A  I 


3  1970  00432  8750 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A  A      000201963    6 


